Alaska Gov. and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin was cleared on Monday of wrongdoing in an abuse-of-power investigation into the firing of the state's public safety commissioner.
The Alaska Personnel Board report, issued on the eve of the U.S. presidential election, ran contrary to findings from a legislative inquiry that concluded in October that Palin had abused the power of her office by pressuring subordinates to fire a state trooper involved in a feud with her family.
Palin, who is Republican presidential candidate John McCain's running mate, brought the issue to the personnel board herself after complaining the legislative probe was a partisan effort led by Democrats.
The board, a three-member panel under Palin's authority, was responsible for determining if she had broken any laws.
The investigation concluded there was no "probable cause" that Palin violated the state's executive ethics act in dismissing Walt Monegan as public safety commissioner.
The name "Trooper-gate" is now back where it belongs, among the many scandals of Bill Clinton.
I'm reminded of Richard Allen, national security advisor under President Reagan, who was investigated and ultimately cleared in an ethics investigation. He wondered to which government agency he could go to get his reputation back.
