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The written response by Todd Palin to the “Troopergate” questions includes a comment about the 2007 annual report by the Alaska State Troopers.

“There was an e-mail on June 30, 2008 from (former Commissioner Walt) Monegan that had the annual AST 2007 report,” Palin said.

“I was aware that Sarah was not happy with the report. Sarah was having difficulty finding out who had actually authored it and who was going to take responsibility for it,” Todd Palin said.

I contacted the Troopers about this Thursday and was told that the only way to get this report that the governor was not happy with was by filling out a form and faxing a request to the commissioner’s office.

The form says that “copies of the records are provided by the requester’s expense.”

I filled out the form. I also sent a letter to Public Safety Commissioner Joe Masters saying the report should be made public and posted on the state Website.

That is the most economical way of meeting the requirement for the state to be open with the public.

UPDATE: Public Safety Commissioner Joe Masters responded late this afternoon that the department " has no interest in withholding public information and certainly information that has been published by this agency.” He said the Troopers had not published an “annual” report for about a decade and the new version was a draft that was not completed. “That is the reason you were asked to submit your request in the form of a FOIA request. I have confirmed that your request is being processed and assure you it will be responded to,” he said.