When Alaskan governor Sarah Palin was in the running for vice president, she always made it perfectly clear that she was a family oriented woman.  In one written statement, Palin wrote that “I am blessed to have a large and loving family, and the discharge of my duties should not prevent me from spending time with them.” And while that may be true, she has recently come under fire for using state money to fly her family with her so she could, indeed, spend more time with them.

According to The Alaska Daily News, even though she isn’t admitting that she did anything wrong, Sarah Palin says she will reimburse the state almost $7,000 in travel expenses.  She is returning the money she spent on nine separate trips for her children.

The travels in question include a visit to New York City with daughter Bristol to attend a conference and a trip to an Iron Dog snow machine race where Palin’s husband, Todd, was competing.

An ethics complaint was filed back in 2008 and the $7,000 pay out by Palin settles that complaint.  Thomas Van Flein, Palin’s lawyer, told reporters that the governor has been “exonerated” in regards to the ethics complaint and that in fact there had been “no ethics violation”.

But the lawyer representing the state Personnel Board, Tim Petumenos, isn’t in agreement with Palin’s lawyer.  Petumenos, who was hired to investigate the complaint against Palin, said that “to be exonerated suggests a hearing on the merits and a conclusion.”  He told The Alaska Daily News “That was not what happened here.”

He went on to say that in agreement for not filing a formal accusation against Palin, or taking the case to hearing, the governor would not contest certain charges.