An audio recording released by Gov. Sarah Palin on Wednesday implicates an aide pressuring the Public Safety Department to fire a state trooper embroiled in a custody battle with her sister. Previously the administration maintained that no pressure was exerted to get rid of trooper Mike Wooten.

With the release of the recording came the admission that other members of her staff had made about two dozen contacts with public safety officials about the trooper.

"I do now have to tell Alaskans that such pressure could have been perceived to exist although I have only now become aware of it," Palin said.

The decision to fire Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan last month was not made over Monegan's refusal to fire trooper Mike Wooten, said Palin.

Evidence of what Palin dubbed a "smoking gun" conversation, and other calls made by her aides recently surfaced as a result of the attorney general's inquiry. The investigation was commissioned by Palin about two weeks ago after Sen. Hollis French was quoted in the Wall Street Journal saying that Palin could be impeached as a result of the probe.

So far Attorney General Talis Colberg has determined that a majority of the calls came from Palin's chief of staff at the time, Mike Tibbles. Colberg and Palin's husband Todd, also contacted Monegan about the trooper.

Palin said she never asked any of her staff members to contact state public safety officials about Wooten, however the governor said she was aware that calls were made."Many of these inquiries were completely appropriate. However, the serial nature of the contacts could be perceived as some kind of pressure, presumably at my direction," she said.

The "most disturbing" of these inquires, said Palin, was the recorded conversation between Frank Bailey, the governor's director of boards and commissions, and trooper Lt. Rodney Dial back in February. The call was recorded as is the practice of the Public Safety Department. A copy of the call has been released by the governor's office, which can be heard here.

Throughout the call several damaging statements are made by Bailey. At one point Bailey said, "Todd and Sarah are scratching their heads, 'Why on earth hasn't this, why is this guy still representing the department?' He's a horrible recruiting tool, you know." To which Dial replied, "I used to be a recruiter. I know a lot of times that information is extremely confidential."

Bailey indicated that he saw Wooten's application for use in a worker's compensation claim.

Monegan was also brought up by Bailey, "I'm telling you honestly, you know, she really likes Walt a lot, but on this issue, she feels like it's, she doesn't know why there is absolutely no action for a year on this issue. It's very, very troubling to her and the family. I could definitely relay that."

On Wednesday Bailey stated that he never received any direction from Palin or her husband to make the call to the department. Palin denounced Bailey's comments saying they were "just wrong."

According to Bailey the call was made to Dial, the state troopers liaison to the Legislature, to gather information about the troopers union. Wooten was unintetionally brought up.

Bailey tried to defend his actions, saying that after Palin won the election a security briefing informed him of a threat Wooten had made against Palin's family. Bailey also recounted casual conversations with Todd Palin about the trooper. Todd, said Bailey, had expressed "general frustration with the situation" but never made any request for Bailey to act on.

Bailey's position within the administration is currently under discussion, said Palin.

Along with Bailey's phone call, Colberg indicated that he himself had made a call about Wooten, calling Monegan several months ago. The call was the result of a question Colberg was asked by Todd Palin. Todd Palin had asked Colberg about "the process" for when state troopers make death threats against the first family.

"I made an inquiry and was told by commissioner Monegan that there was a process in place and that it was handled and it was over. And I reported back to the first gentleman that there was nothing more that could be done," Colberg said.

Additionally, Palin admitted that her husband made a similar inquiry into the matter, and had called Monegan about the threat made by Wooten. Monegan indicated that he could not discuss the matter.

Wooten's threat was alleged to have been made back in 2005, before Palin entered the governor's office. The family claimed that Wooten told Palin's sister he would shoot their father if he got the sister a lawyer.

While Wooten denied the allegation, a trooper investigation concluded that he did. However this isn't a crime because the threat was not made directly to the father, but Wooten's actions were in violation of trooper policy, investigators found.

Colberg also revealed that Chuck Kopp, Monegan's appointed replacement, received a $10,000 state severance package. Kopp was appointed by Palin and was awaiting approval from the legislature, when two weeks later he resigned from the position.

Monegan said that he did not receive any severance package.

Up until Wednesday, circumstances surrounding Monegan's firing remained unknown. Palin finally laid out an explination. According to Palin, Monegan was unable to fill trooper positions and handle alcohol abuse issues. She said he "did not turn out to be a team player on budgeting issues."

Palin said Monegan indicated to legislators that she wasn't proposing enough spending. Mike Nizich, Palin's acting chief of staff, said Monegan requested for spending from the legislators that had not been authorized by the governor. "The response he got was don't come to us and ask for more money when you cannot fill the 56 or 58 trooper positions that were vacant," Nizich said. "So he was making a pitch for additional funding when he couldn't even fill what he currently had available to him."

Monegan questioned that however declined further comment. He's already started speaking with the special investigator who was hired by the Legislature to look into the firing.

To read the press release issued by the governor's office in its entirety, click here.