Palin has no legal troubles, lawyer says

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Gov. Sarah Palin spent Monday fishing with her family and away from the spotlight as her lawyer insisted that legal troubles did not drive her to announce her stunning resignation over the holiday weekend.

Palin's early departure has fueled rumors that some legal entanglement not yet known to the public may have compelled her to resign. Sixteen ethics complaints have been filed against Palin in the last year, most of which have been dismissed as baseless.

But Palin's lawyer, Thomas Van Flein, said the Republican governor and former vice presidential candidate has no legal problems whatsoever.

In an interview with The Associated Press, he said that Palin believes that the hostile political climate and legal bills have become too much of a distraction for the state.

"She is leaving now because I think she believes that she has become the issue, rightly or wrongly, with all these ethics complaints and with the issues involving the Legislature, the combativeness they've been demonstrating toward her since she returned from the campaign," Van Flein said.

"I think she believes it's in the best interest of the state to progress forward, for her to move on to other issues."

Palin has become a lightning rod for partisan politics in Alaska since her return from the 2008 presidential campaign after John McCain selected her as his running mate. She has racked up an estimated $600,000 in legal bills defending the flurry of ethics complaints, including one filed Monday that alleges she is violating ethics law by taking per diem payments when she stays in her Wasilla home instead of the governor's mansion in Juneau.

In addition, her relationship with Senate Democrats — once among her staunchest allies — deteriorated in the last session.

Palin has made only one brief public appearance — watching part of the July 4th parade in Juneau — since her bombshell announcement Friday that she will resign from office at the end of the month. She is scheduled to appear at a bill-signing on Tuesday in Kotzebue, an Alaskan village north of the Arctic circle.

The Palin resignation was noticed in halls of the state Capitol in Juneau as well.