A report released last Friday by the bipartisan Alaska Legislative Council found that Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) “abused her power” and violated a statute of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act — an act, the report stressed, that “is not optional.”

Since the report’s release, the McCain-Palin campaign has been in full spin mode. Campaign manager Rick Davis falsely claimed “there was absolutely no wrongdoing found in the report.” And when asked by a reporter if she abused her power, Palin dodged, saying “there’s nothing unlawful or unethical about replacing a cabinet member” — referring to her dismissal of Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan.

But yesterday, during an interview with the local CBS affiliate in Pittsburgh, Palin stooped a little lower, stating flat out that the Legislative Council’s report had found that she did not abuse her power:

PALIN: [T]he report that came out also was very clear in that there was no unethical or unlawful behavior on my part. … No abuse of power there at all.

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Of course, not only did the report find that Palin abused her power as Alaska’s governor, but it also found — despite her claim to the contrary — that she acted unethically and unlawfully.

In fact, the media have caught on to the McCain-Palin campaign’s lies about the report’s findings. The Washington Post called Palin’s false characterization of the report a “reverse of the truth” and ABC’s Jake Tapper called it “flatly false.” The Anchorage Daily News, Palin’s home state newspaper, said Palin’s response is “downright Orwellian.”

But thankfully, Palin has vowed that McCain will clean up her act, saying last Saturday that “as president, he’s going to end those [abuses of power] once and for all.”

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Over the weekend, Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) reacted to the Troopergate report by claiming that she did “nothing unlawful or unethical.” “I’m very very pleased to be cleared of any legal wrongdoing…any hint of any kind of unethical activity there,” Palin said on Saturday. Today, Palin’s home state paper, the Anchorage Daily News, calls out her lie:

Sarah Palin’s reaction to the Legislature’s Troopergate report is an embarrassment to Alaskans and the nation. … Her response is either astoundingly ignorant or downright Orwellian.

Page 8, Finding Number One of the report says: “I find that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act.”

In plain English, she did something “unlawful.” She broke the state ethics law. [...]

Palin’s response is the kind of political “big lie” that George Orwell warned against. War is peace. Black is white. Up is down.

The Washington Post Fact Checker takes a look at Sarah Palin’s claim that the Troopergate report cleared her “of any hint of any kind of unethical activity.” The Post writes that is the “reverse of the truth”: “What is not debatable is that the report clearly states that she violated the State Ethics Act. ” The Post awards Palin four Pinocchios — its highest rating for false statements.

ABC News’ Jake Tapper also notes that Palin’s statements are “flatly false.”

On MSNBC this afternoon, host Andrea Mitchell asked McCain-Palin campaign spokeswoman Meg Stapleton: “Wasn’t [Palin] overstating it? She wasn’t cleared of anything unethical because the conclusion was that she had violated the ethics rules of the state of Alaska.” Stapleton responded, “This Governor did nothing wrong and did nothing unlawful.” Watch it:

On Saturday, one day after Gov. Sarah Palin was cited by an official state investigation for unethically and unlawfully abusing her power, Sen. John McCain said he would end “abuses [of power]” in Washington as president. In another bout of irony, Palin today echoed McCain:

See as a senator, John has confronted the corrupt ways of Washington. And the wasteful spending. And the abuses of power. As president, he’s going to end those once and for all.

Watch it:

From the Troopergate report:

For the reasons explained in section IV of this report, I find that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 2952.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act.

On Friday, the bipartisan Alaskan Legislative Council voted unanimously to release the findings of its “Troopergate” investigation. The report stated unequivocally that “Sarah Palin abused her power” by violating a statute of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act. As the report emphasized, “Compliance with the code of ethics is not optional.”

The McCain campaign has decided to simply turn the finding on its head. On Fox News Sunday this morning, campaign manager Rick Davis claimed the investigation absolved Palin of any wrongdoing:

DAVIS: Let me tell you, this whole thing has been a kangaroo court form day one. … The reality is there was absolutely no wrongdoing found in the report. 1,000 pages, an enormous waste of time and the best that they could come up with was no violation of any laws or ethics rules, but –

WALLACE: Wait wait. It said she violated the state ethics board.

DAVIS: But that she acted within her power and scope of authority as governor to do exactly as she did. … It was a great public circus.

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Davis’s claim that the investigation was a partisan hit job is laughable. The investigation was originally authorized by a unanimous, bipartisan vote of the Legislative Council; a bipartisan majority voted to subpoena key witnesses, including Todd Palin; and its findings were released Friday under unanimous, bipartisan agreement.

Yesterday, Palin similarly reversed the report’s findings, telling Alaskan reporters yesterday she was “very very pleased to be cleared of any legal wrongdoing,” or “any hint of any kind of unethical activity there”:

ADN: Governor, finding No.1 on the report was that you abused your power by violating state law. Do you think you did anything wrong at all in this Troopergate case?

PALIN: Not at all and I’ll tell you, it, I think that you’re always going to ruffle feathers as you do what you believe is in the best interest of the people whom you are serving.

Perhaps Palin’s complete misunderstanding of the report’s findings is rooted in the fact that she apparently still hasn’t actually read it:

ADN: Have you read the whole report? (No response; Stapleton invites question from KTVA reporter).

Just moments ago at a townhall rally in Davenport, IA, John McCain delivered this statement:

As a Senator, I’ve seen the corrupt ways of Washington and wasteful spending and other abuses of power, and its corruption. We now have former members of Congress residing in federal prison. That’s how bad it’s gotten. As President, I’m going to end these abuses whatever it takes.

Watch it:

McCain’s statement is ironic, considering his running mate was cited just last night by an official state investigation for unethically and unlawfully abusing her power. Noting that McCain was previously admonished by the Senate Ethics Committee for his involvement in the Keating scandal, Steve Benen reports:

The McCain/Palin ticket is the first in American history in which both candidates were found to have violated ethics standards before a national election.

While Sarah Palin was boarding her campaign bus this morning, a reporter seeking comment on the new Troopergate report shouted out to her, “Governor, did you abuse your power?” She responded:

If you read the report, you’ll see that there’s nothing unlawful or unethical about replacing a cabinet member. You’ve got to read the report, sir.

Watch it:

As Jake Tapper notes, Palin is dodging the question and parsing her answer. “It’s true that there’s nothing ‘unlawful or unethical about replacing a cabinet member’ in principle,” he writes, “but the report is not as Gov. Palin is presenting it.” The report explicitly states that she did abuse her power and acted unethically:

For the reasons explained in section IV of this report, I find that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 2952.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act.

Moreover, the report states that compliance with this Act “is not optional,” and that her conduct violated the Ethics Act.

You’ve got to read the report, Governor Palin.