Salon reports that Sarah Palin disregarded the advice of her ethics adviser, a former U.S. Attorney and Republican stalwart, who informed her that she probably had to comply with the Alaska House investigation into her alleged abuses of power. As governor, Palin fired Alaska’s well-respected public safety commissioner because he refused to fire her estranged ex-brother-in-law.

A man who has informally advised Sarah Palin on ethics issues told her she should apologize for the way she fired Alaska’s public safety commissioner and told her that legally she probably had to cooperate with the investigation into that firing, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

The advisor, former U.S. attorney Wevley Shea — a Republican — said Palin and her husband should apologize for "overreaching or perceived overreaching" in apparently using her position to try to get her sister’s ex-husband, a state trooper, fired. "My feeling is this is not a personnel matter. It doesn’t have anything to do with the governing of the state of Alaska," he told the Journal. [Salon]

Instead, Palin and her lawyer have chosen to attack Steven Branchflower, the investigator who is leading the probe of Palin’s conduct.

Palin initially welcomed scrutiny, claiming she had nothing to hide. She said she would cooperate with the investigation. Now, she’s refusing to cooperate and calling the inquiry "illegal and unconstitutional."

Stay classy, guv.