Palin Lied About Sudan Divestment in Debate

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Sarah Palin claimed during Thursday's vice presidential debate that, as governor of Alaska, she fought to protest atrocities in Sudan by dropping assets tied to the country's brutal regime from the state's $40 billion investment fund. "When I and others in the legislature found out we had some millions of dollars in Sudan," Palin said, "we called for divestment through legislation of those dollars to make sure we weren't doing anything that would be seen as condoning the activities there in Darfur." Reporting by ABC News and the Washington Post indicates otherwise.

In fact, Palin's administration opposed a measure to divest Alaskan holdings in Sudan-linked investments. "The [Palin] administration killed our bill," Alaska state representative Les Gara told ABC News. Gara and state representative Bob Lynn co-sponsored a bipartisan resolution (HB287) early this year to force the Alaska Permanent Fund to divest millions of dollars in holdings tied to the Sudanese government. Palin's administration openly opposed the bill, stating its opposition in a public hearing on the measure in February. Said Brian Andrews, Palin's deputy revenue commissioner, at the hearing: "The legislation is well-intended, and the desire to make a difference is noble, but mixing moral and political agendas at the expense of our citizens' financial security is not a good combination." Gara told ABC that opposition from Palin's administration was instrumental in killing the measure. "I walked out of that hearing livid," Gara recalled, noting that because of Palin's opposition to the bill, "We could not get a vote in that committee." Any expression of support from Palin for the Sudan divestment effort would come only at the end of the legislative session, after the Gara-Lynn measure's fate had been sealed.

The Alaska Permanent Fund currently holds $22 million in Sudan-linked investments, according to the non-profit Sudan Divestment Task Force. Palin's running mate, John McCain, has expressed strong support of Sudan divestment efforts, but was criticized when it was revealed in May that his wife Cindy held $2 million in investment funds owning shares of Sudan-linked companies. Mrs. McCain sold those holdings following inquiries from the news media.