Palin's Figures on Ethics Complaints Don't Add Up

A spreadsheet from Sarah Palin's office detailing spending on ethics complaints and lawsuits is riddled with discrepancies, the Anchorage Daily News reports. The administrative director of Palin's office says accidental double-counting added $26,849 to the $1.9 million total. She plans to make inquiries about other parts of the spreadsheet, including a line in which 0.3 hours of an attorney's time seems to have cost more than $10,000.

Another page lists 119.4 attorney hours on a complaint related to Troopergate, but the figure is given as 13.3 hours elsewhere. A tally on the toll for workers in the governors office suggests they make $85 an hour, but the administrative director says that figure includes health benefits and other extras. Palin has said the cost of requiring government employees to deal with complaints against her is one of the reasons she's stepping down.
(More accounting stories.)