Report: Palin abused power as governor

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin violated state ethics law by trying to get her sister's ex-husband fired from the state police, a report released Friday concluded.

The conclusion was contained in a report released Friday by Alaska's bipartisan Legislative Council, the Anchorage (Alaska) Daily News reported. The council ordered an investigation into Palin's dismissal of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan and efforts to get Michael Wooten fired as a state trooper.

Investigator Steve Branchflower determined that Palin had violated Alaska's executive branch ethics act, which states that "any effort (by public officials) to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust." Branchflower concluded that Palin had the authority to fire Monegan for any or no reason and that she had motives beyond his refusal to fire Wooten.

But he also found that she misused her position.

"She knowingly, as that term is defined by the above-cited statutes, permited Todd Palin to use the Governor's office and the resources of the Governor's office, including access to state employees, to continue to contact subordinate state employees in an effort to find some way to get Trooper Wooten fired," Branchflower said.

The investigation became a national story when Palin won the Republican vice presidential nomination. Late Friday, a spokeswoman for the McCain-Palin campaign called the investigation "a partisan-led inquiry," CNN reported.

"Gov. Palin was cleared of the allegation of an improper firing, which is what this investigation was approved to look into," Meg Stapleton said.