Ethics complaint by Palin critic dismissed

ANCHORAGE - A critic of Sarah Palin said Wednesday that the state of Alaska has dismissed an ethics complaint alleging past aides of the former governor misused state resources during her 2008 run as the Republican vice presidential nominee.

Andree McLeod said her complaint was dismissed this week by the state attorney general's office.

All but one of McLeod's multiple complaints against Palin or her aides have been dismissed, although one included a recommendation that ethics training be provided for a staffer who made questionable comments in e-mails.

In the complaint dismissed Monday, McLeod maintained that eight staffers in the former governor's office violated the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act by using state time, property and resources, including e-mails, to benefit the campaign of presidential hopeful John McCain and Palin, his running mate..

"I'm convinced the Executive Branch Ethics Act is not worth the paper it's written on," McLeod said of the dismissal.

Judy Bockmon, a state ethics attorney, said she could not comment on the case. Bockmon said ethics complaints are confidential unless the people named in them waive confidentiality. That has not happened.

Complaints also are made public if any wrongdoing if found.

McCleod provided to The Associated Press two of eight notices of dismissal she received from the attorney general's office. Each notice dealt with one of the former aides to Palin.

According to one of the notices, finding that a state employee violated the prohibition on using state resources would require proof that the worker intended to benefit or harm a candidate or a political party or group - and there was none here.

"Although we state the prohibition in absolute terms, the Ethics Act nevertheless mandates that we distinguish between situations reflecting minor and inconsequential activities that are unavoidable in a free society and those conflicts of interest that are substantial and material," the notice states. "A few isolated e-mails are not a significant misuse of state resources prohibited by the Ethics Act."