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“A legislative investigator found that Palin violated state ethics laws and abused her power by trying to have her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper.
If voters believe the report's finding and it tarnishes Palin's reputation as a reformer and a champion for good government, that could hurt Republican presidential nominee John McCain in the final weeks of the race.
The McCain campaign quickly rejected that notion.
"I think the American people can tell the difference between the results of a politically motivated investigation and a legitimate finding of fact," campaign spokesman Taylor Griffin said.
The inquiry looked into Palin's 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 and custody battle with the governor's sister. Palin says Monegan was fired as part of a legitimate budget dispute.
Stephen Branchflower, a retired prosecutor hired to conduct the investigation, said Monegan's firing was lawful. But the pressure Palin and her husband put on him, he said, was not.
Under Alaska law, it is up to the state's Personnel Board, not the Legislature, to decide whether Palin violated the ethics laws. If so, it must refer the matter to the Senate president for disciplinary action. Violations also carry a possible fine of up to $5,000.
Barack Obama's presidential campaign did not comment on the report amid persistent accusations by Republicans that rival operatives were manipulating the investigation to help the Democratic presidential nominee.
Elton said partisanship played no role in the report.
"When we began investigating this, we had no idea that Sarah Palin would be a part of the national ticket," said Elton, an Obama supporter.
Branchflower said Palin violated a statute of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act. Lawmakers don't have the authority to sanction her for such a violation and they gave no indication they would take any action against her.
Palin has recently said that the Personnel Board inquiry is the only one that matters. And McCain's campaign echoed those comments Friday.
"This is the opinion of this Legislative Council investigation," Griffin said. "It's just an opinion."
The report notes a few instances in which Palin pressed the case against trooper Mike Wooten, but it was her husband, Todd, who led the charge. Todd Palin had extraordinary access to the governor's office and her closest advisers and he used that access to try to get Wooten fired.
Gov. Palin knowingly "permitted Todd 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's report reads. “
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“Palin attempted to neutralize the findings into her official conduct by labeling the inquiry a "partisan circus".
"I'm thankful that the report has shown that there was no illegal or unethical activity there," she told reporters at a campaign stop in Pennsylvania on Saturday, adding that the investigation was "a partisan kind of process that had been undertaken by some of the legislators who haven't been real happy with anything that I've done along the way as governor".
The vice-presidential candidate emphasized the fact that the investigation, carried out by a former prosecutor, Stephen Branchflower, had exonerated her from any impropriety in her decision to sack the head of Alaska's public safety commission, Walt Monegan, soon after she came to office. The inquiry concluded that as governor she had every right to choose her top officials.
Is this woman on drugs – seriously? Maybe she just can’t read?
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“The report's release brought a palpable sense of relief from some legislators, who had been besieged for weeks by reporters from the national media, and a driven effort by the McCain-Palin campaign and its allies to discredit their probe and those involved in it.
"What I would like more than anything is an apology," said Gara. "An apology from the McCain campaign to the people they attacked to try to stop this investigation."
"[Palin] knowingly ... permitted [husband] Todd Palin to use the governor's office and the resources of the governor's office ... in an effort to find some way to get Trooper Wooten fired."
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