An Alaska ethics inquiry has found that Governor Sarah Palin, the US Republican vice presidential candidate, abused her authority by pressuring subordinates to fire a state trooper involved in a feud with her family.
The finding has cast a cloud over John McCain's choice of running mate for the 4 November election.
On the day it was published he reined in an aggressive strategy against Barack Obama that had failed to cut into his Democratic rival's lead.
After a week in which he and Ms Palin fiercely attacked Mr Obama and inflamed supporters by urging them to question his fitness to be president, Mr McCain switched to a milder tone, calling on frustrated loyalists to respect the Illinois senator.
Supporters appeared surprised by his conciliatory approach, booing at a Minneapolis rally when he told a sceptical backer that Mr Obama was a 'decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared (of) as president of the United States.'
The Alaska inquiry centred on whether Ms Palin's dismissal of the state's public safety commissioner, Walt Monegan, was linked to her personal feud with a state trooper who was involved in a contentious divorce with the Governor's sister.
The inquiry found that while it was within the Governor's authority to dismiss Mr Monegan, Ms Palin violated the public trust by pressuring those who worked for her in a way that advanced her personal wishes.
The report did not recommend any action be taken against the Governor, but called for changes in statutes for handling government personnel.
The investigation was commissioned in July by Alaska's Legislative Council composed of ten Republican lawmakers and four Democrats.
The McCain-Palin campaign dismissed the report, saying it was a 'partisan-led inquiry run by Obama supporters,' and Ms Palin and her family had been justified to be concerned about the behaviour of the trooper.
