laska Governor Palin receives deluge of ethics complaints

Washington, May 4 (ANI): Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has been inundated by ethics complaints, most of them filed against her after she agreed to become Senator John McCain's running mate in last year's presidential elections.

The complaints run the gamut, ranging from the governor's use of state funds and staff to the workings of her political action committee and even to a jacket she wore to a snow machine race involving her husband, reports Politico.

It's difficult to pinpoint exactly how many complaints have been filed because the state doesn't keep count and the complaints are kept confidential by the attorney general's office unless the state moves forward with a public accusation of wrongdoing. But in total there have been more than a dozen, and most of those have surfaced in the last seven months.

"As we've been saying, the number of ethics complaints filed against the governor and her staff - as well as the tortured logic they contain - continue to constitute the most disturbing trend in Alaska politics," said Palin spokeswoman Sharon Leighow in a recent statement after one ostensibly confidential complaint was sent to the Anchorage Daily News and other news outlets.

"In the past several months, we have seen an orchestrated effort by the governor's opponents to make differences of opinion and ideology almost criminal," said Mike Nizich, the governor's chief of staff, in a statement.

"Governor Palin has spent a considerable amount of time and money fighting ethics complaints - and no charge has been substantiated. I hope that the publicity-seekers will face a backlash from Alaskans who have a sense of fair play and proportion. I served six previous governors, and I've never seen anything like the attacks against Governor Palin," he added.

The deluge of complaints is, in part, a reflection of the ease with which they can be filed. Any Alaska resident can submit a complaint in writing as long as it is signed under oath and contains details of the alleged ethics violation. (ANI)