REPUBLICAN VICE-PRESIDENTIAL candidate Sarah Palin was within her rights to fire an Alaskan state official who claims he was sacked because he refused to fire her ex-brother-in-law from the state's police, a new inquiry has found.
Last month an inquiry dominated by Democrats in the state had found that the Alaskan governor had breached ethics laws by dismissing Alaskan public safety commissioner Walt Monegan.
He claimed, and continues to claim despite yesterday's findings, that Ms Palin repeatedly put pressure on him and other police officials to fire state trooper Mike Wooten, who had been involved in an acrimonious divorce battle with her sister.
In evidence to both inquiries in what has become known as the "troopergate" case, Mr Monegan said he had received many complaints about Mr Wooten from Ms Palin and her senior staff. Mr Monegan has said he believes he was fired because he would not bend to pressure from Ms Palin, her husband Todd, and her subordinates, to fire Trooper Wooten, who had been through a bitter divorce with the governor's sister.
However, the independent investigator, Timothy Petumenos, said there was no evidence to suggest any of this had happened, and nobody had come forward to corroborate Mr Monegan's version of events.
"They didn't happen at all. Unless someone can be proved to abuse their power it seems to me they haven't done it," said Mr Petumenos, who said the earlier inquiry had wrongly applied state ethics law.
Mr Monegan said: "The conversations absolutely did take place. I've been a police officer for some 35 years. Aren't I supposed to tell the truth?
"And in this case I did, under oath to both investigators. It's not only me.
"There were [others] who got the calls, felt the pressure and knew exactly what was going on. I will always feel that there were conversations and e-mails that were intended to inappropriately use an official government position to settle a family matter."
John Cyr, the head of the Alaskan police union, said Mr Monegan was "scrupulously honest. We all knew that the governor's office was putting pressure on the department of public safety to take action against Michael Wooten."
Ms Palin promised to co-operate with the first inquiry but she eventually refused to testify after she was nominated to run alongside John McCain for the White House.
She said then that the first inquiry had become politically driven. The McCain campaign sent lawyers and staff members to Alaska to help with her legal strategy and to hold daily "Palin truth squad" press conferences.
Meanwhile, the Republican vice-presidential nominee is in good health and has no medical conditions to report, according to an eve-of-poll disclosure on her health status - something all candidates are expected to agree.
"[She] is in excellent health and has no known health problems," said her doctor.