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Investigator Stephen Branchflower, in a report by a bipartisan
panel that investigated the matter, found Palin in violation of a
state ethics law that prohibits public officials from using their
office for personal gain.


      The inquiry looked into her dismissal of Public Safety
Commissioner Walter Monegan, who said he lost his job because he
resisted pressure to fire a state trooper involved in a bitter
divorce with the governor's sister. Palin says Monegan was fired as
part of a legitimate budget dispute.


      The report found that Palin let the family grudge influence her
decision-making even if it was not the sole reason Monegan was
dismissed. "I feel vindicated," Monegan said. "It sounds like
they've validated my belief and opinions. And that tells me I'm not
totally out in left field."


      Branchflower said Palin violated a statute of the Alaska
Executive Branch Ethics Act.


      Palin and McCain's supporters had hoped the inquiry's finding
would be delayed until after the presidential election to spare her
any embarrassment and to put aside an enduring distraction as she
campaigns as McCain's running mate in an uphill contest against
Democrat Barack Obama.


      But the panel of lawmakers voted to release the report, although
not without dissension. There was no immediate vote on whether to
endorse its findings.


      "I think there are some problems in this report," said
Republican state Sen. Gary Stevens, a member of the panel. "I
would encourage people to be very cautious, to look at this with a
jaundiced eye."


      The nearly 300-page report does not recommend sanctions or a
criminal investigation.


      The investigation revealed that Palin's husband, Todd, has
extraordinary access to the governor's office and her closest
advisers. He used that access to try to get trooper Mike Wooten
fired, the report found.


      Branchflower faulted Sarah Palin for taking no action to stop
that. He also noted there is evidence the governor herself
participated in the effort.


      Wooten had been in hot water before Palin became governor over
allegations that he illegally shot a moose, drank beer in a patrol
car and used a Taser on his stepson.


      In proceedings revealed by the report, former Alaska State
Trooper Col. Julia Grimes told investigators that Sarah Palin
called her in late 2005 to discuss why Wooten hadn't been fired,
and Grimes told her the inquiry was confidential by law.


      "Her questions were how can a trooper who behaves this way
still be working," Grimes said. "I asked her to please trust me,
that because I can't tell her details I would ask her to please
trust me that I would take the appropriate action if and when I
knew what the findings were. ... I couldn't have another
conversation with her about it because, again, it's protected by
law."


      Grimes said Todd Palin also contacted her by telephone in late
2005 to discuss the confidential investigation of Wooten.


      Wooten's disciplinary case was settled in September 2006 -
months before Palin was elected governor - and he was allowed to
continue working as a trooper.


      After Palin's election, her new public safety commissioner,
Monegan, said he was summoned to the governor's office to meet Todd
Palin, who said Wooten's punishment had been merely a "slap on the
wrist." Monegan said he understood the Palins wanted Wooten fired.
"I had this kind of ominous feeling that I may not be long for
this job if I didn't somehow respond accordingly," Monegan told
the investigator.


      For months afterward, Todd Palin filed complaints about Wooten,
saying he was seen riding a snowmobile after he had filed a
worker's compensation claim and was seen dropping off his children
at school in his patrol car. Monegan said Wooten's doctor had
authorized the snowmobile trip and his supervisor had approved his
use of the patrol car. Monegan said Alaska's attorney general later
called him to inquire about Wooten, and Monegan told him they
shouldn't be discussing the subject.


      "This was an issue that apparently wasn't going to go away,
that there were certainly frustrations," Monegan said. "To say
that (Sarah Palin) was focused on this I think would be accurate."

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Politics and Government News

Sarah Palin unlawfully abused her power
as governor by trying to have her former brother-in-law fired as a
state trooper, the chief investigator of an Alaska legislative
panel concluded Friday. The politically charged inquiry imperiled
her reputation as a reformer on John McCain's Republican ticket.

Alaska inquiry finding: Palin abused power

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