Palin cleared after 'Troopergate' inquiry

John McCain's running mate Sarah Palin was cleared in the so-called Troopergate inquiry today.

The allegations involves the dismissal of Alaska's public safety commissioner Walter Monegan after he allegedly refused to fire Mrs Palin's brother-in-law Mike Wooten, an Alaskan state trooper, following a messy divorce from her sister.

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An Alaska legislative panel found last month that Mrs Palin abused her power and violated the state's ethics law that prohibits public officials from using their office for personal gain.

But it was up to the Alaska personnel board to rule whether she broke any laws.

"There is no probable cause to believe that the governor, or any other state official, violated the Alaska Executive Ethics Act in connection with these matters," the report said.

It was prepared by Timothy Petumenos, an independent counsel for the Alaska Personnel Board.

Investigations by the Alaska personnel board are normally secret but the three-member board decided to release this report, on the eve of the election, citing public interest in the matter given Mrs Palin's status as a candidate for national office.

Mrs Palin had earlier waived her privacy rights, but others in her administration did not and Mr Petumenos sought to keep the matter from playing out in the media.

The governor of Alaska and Republican vice presidential nominee initially said she would cooperate with the legislature's probe, but then said the investigation had become too partisan and filed an ethics grievance against herself with the personnel board.

Last month, an Alaska legislative panel found Mrs Palin abused her power and violated the state's ethics law that prohibits public officials from using their office for personal gain.

But Mrs Palin was not subpoenaed in that investigation and it was largely toothless - it was up to the personnel board to decide whether she violated the law.

Her husband Todd, the so-called first dude of Alaska, told investigators: "I make no apologies for wanting to protect my family and wanting to publicise the injustice of a violent trooper keeping his badge."

In his 267-page report, the chief investigator Stephen Branchflower said the Republican vice presidential nominee violated a statute of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act.

"Governor Palin knowingly permitted a situation to continue where impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates in order to advance a personal agenda, to wit: to get Trooper Michael Wooten fired," he said.

The first report also found Mr Monegan's refusal to fire Mr Wooten was not the sole reason he was dismissed but was likely a contributing factor.

Mrs Palin also allowed her husband to use the governor's office and resources to continue to contact state employees to find some way to get Mr Wooten fired, according to the first report.