ANCHORAGE (Alaska) - GOVERNOR Sarah Ms Palin spent Monday fishing with her family and away from the spotlight as her lawyer insisted that legal troubles did not drive her to announce her stunning resignation over the holiday weekend.

Ms Palin's early departure has fuelled rumours that some legal entanglement not yet known to the public may have compelled her to resign. Sixteen ethics complaints have been filed against Ms Palin in the last year, most of which have been dismissed as baseless.

But Ms Palin's lawyer, Thomas Van Flein, said the Republican governor and former vice presidential candidate has no legal problems whatsoever.

Ms Palin believes that the hostile political climate and legal bills have become too much of a distraction for the state.

Ms Palin has become a lightning rod for partisan politics in Alaska since her return from the 2008 presidential campaign after John McCain selected her as his running mate.

She has racked up an estimated US$500,000 (S$728,000) in legal bills defending the flurry of ethics complaints, including one filed on Monday that alleges she is violating ethics law by taking per diem payments when she stays in her Wasilla home instead of the governor's mansion in Juneau.

In addition, her relationship with Senate Democrats - once among her staunchest allies - deteriorated in the last session.

Ms Palin has made only one brief public appearance - watching part of the July 4th parade in Juneau - since her bombshell announcement on Friday that she will resign from office at the end of the month. She is scheduled to appear at a bill-signing on Tuesday in Kotzebue, an Alaska village north of the Arctic circle.

Ms Palin will be succeeded by Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell, who has announced he will seek to retain the office in the 2010 election.

State Representative John Harris, a former House speaker and Republican from Valdez, announced on Monday that he's preparing to file paperwork with state election officials in a bid for governor. -- AP