Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin today denied any abuse of her powers as governor, as a state legislative inquiry into her firing of the state's public safety commissioner has found.
"If you read the report, you will see that there was nothing unlawful or unethical about replacing a cabinet member," Palin said as boarded her campaign bus in Pittsburgh, Pa., today. "You got to read the report."
The report says this: Palin violated state ethics law by attempting to get her former brother-in-law fired from the state police. "Gov. Palin knowingly permitted a situation to continue where impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates in order to advance a personal agenda," the report concludes.
Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan's refusal to fire State Trooper Mike Wooten, the ex-brotherr in law, was "likely a contributing factor" to Monegan's July dismissal, but Palin had the authority as governor to fire him, the report by former Anchorage prosecutor Stephen Branchflower finds.
The report concludes that Palin's efforts to get Wooten fired broke a state ethics law that bars public officials from pursuing personal interest through official action.
Attorneys for Palin and her husband Todd have issued a three-page rebuttal to the state report, in the saga which has come to be known as "Trooper-gate,'' contending that the state Ethics Act only covers acts that have a financial "potential gain, or the avoidance of a potential loss."