Investigation Finds Palin Abused Power As Governor

An independent probe found that Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin abused her power as Alaska’s governor in trying to get her former brother-in-law fired.

The investigation by the Alaska legislature, which released its findings Friday, also concluded that Palin was within her right to dismiss her state’s public safety commissioner. But it found that she did so partly because the commissioner refused to fire her sister’s former husband from his job as a state trooper.

According to the investigation report, Palin, her husband and her subordinates used state resources to push for Trooper Michael Wooten’s firing. Wooten, who still has his job, divorced Palin’s sister three years ago.

Download the report from the Alaska State Legislature here.