An inquiry into the firing of the Commissioner of Alaska’s Department of Public Safety concluded that his dismissal by Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was a “lawful exercise” of her authority as governor, but that Palin “abused her power” under a state ethics law. The “Branchflower Report” (pdf, 2.0mb) was presented to the Alaska Legislative Council on October 10 by Stephen Branchflower, a retired state prosecutor, who was selected by the Council to serve as its consultant in an investigation of the circumstances surrounding the July 2008 dismissal of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan.

Branchflower concluded that Governor Palin “abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act,” (pdf, 57.8kb) which states that “each public officer holds office as a public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust.” However, Branchflower concluded that while Monegan’s refusal to fire State Trooper Michael Wooten was “likely a contributing factor to his termination,” Monegan’s dismissal “was a proper and lawful exercise of her constitutional and statutory authority to hire and fire executive branch department heads.”

The Legislative Council did not vote on whether to endorse the report and does not have authority to apply sanctions. Under Alaska law, complaints of Ethics Act violations are brought to the Personnel Board, which is conducting its own investigation.