Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, has been found by an Alaskan legislative panel to have abused her power in having her brother-in-law fired from his position as a state trooper.

The news can be expected to negatively impact the Republican chances in the November American general  election, which are already faltering.

For more, here is the Huffington Post story, a BBC News story written in Q&A style, and a post on the subject by the popular Alaska Mudflats blog, which covers much of issues regarding Palin.