Revelations about past dog Miller until the end

The latest in a string of reports about the Alaska Senate candidate's background details paranoid behavior in '08

By Justin Elliott

Published October 31, 2010 5:36PM (EDT)

FILE - In this Oct. 21, 2010 file photo, Alaska Republican Senate candidate Joe Miller, right, meets supporters at his Anchorage, Alaska campaign headquarters. For Alaskan voters, this year's Senate election is venturing into unexplored territory. The three-way contest features a rematch of the bitter Republican primary, a rising Democrat who is moving from spoiler to contender, and even a voice from the grave. With millions of dollars flowing into the state to help fuel nonstop TV and radio ads, the scope of outside interest in the election is virtually unprecedented. (AP Photo/Michael Dinneen, File) (AP)
FILE - In this Oct. 21, 2010 file photo, Alaska Republican Senate candidate Joe Miller, right, meets supporters at his Anchorage, Alaska campaign headquarters. For Alaskan voters, this year's Senate election is venturing into unexplored territory. The three-way contest features a rematch of the bitter Republican primary, a rising Democrat who is moving from spoiler to contender, and even a voice from the grave. With millions of dollars flowing into the state to help fuel nonstop TV and radio ads, the scope of outside interest in the election is virtually unprecedented. (AP Photo/Michael Dinneen, File) (AP)

With Republicans reportedly losing hope in Alaska Senate nominee and Tea Partier Joe Miller, yet another report has emerged alleging bizarre behaviour by Miller during his career as an attorney.

Alaska Dispatch -- which has led the way in reporting on Miller's background despite his attempts to shield himself from scrutiny -- today quotes unnamed former coworkers of Miller from his time at the Fairbanks North Star Borough saying that he displayed paranoid tendencies during a 2008 effort to oust the chair of the state GOP:

In interviews Friday with Alaska Dispatch, Miller's former co-workers in the Fairbanks borough's legal department said the Senate candidate was paranoid, acting strangely in the days leading up to the computer polling incident and the state GOP convention in spring 2008, including telling them about plots against his life, computer hijacking, a bug in his office, and requesting that the mayor hire a security detail to protect Miller.

...

Days before he was caught using the borough computers for the poll, Miller had spoken openly with members of the borough office about a potential threat coming his way. The Alaska Republican Party was out to get him, Miller told them, and he warned them to be careful about what they did on their computers. Miller claimed a public records request was in the works aimed at scrutinizing employees' computer use, adding that, if granted, he feared it might reveal child pornography on his computer. If any inappropriate material was found on his computer, Miller told them, they needed to know it would be the result of a sophisticated setup -- someone hacking the Fairbanks North Star Borough's computer system and planting inappropriate material on his computer.

Coming from anonymous sources, all of this should be read with skepticism. But it's worth noting that Alaska Dispatch has been out front in the past with an anonymously sourced story on Miller that later proved correct.

The Miller campaign didn't comment for the Dispatch piece, and it hasn't responded to an inquiry from Salon.


By Justin Elliott

Justin Elliott is a reporter for ProPublica. You can follow him on Twitter @ElliottJustin

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