Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin charged the state of Alaska for commercial flights for her children and ordered changes to previously filed expense report to suggest that they were on official business, according to an investigation by the Associated Press.

“On Aug. 6, three weeks before Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain chose Palin his running mate, and after Alaska reporters asked for the records, Palin ordered changes to previously filed expense reports for her daughters’ travel,” the AP reported.”In the amended reports, Palin added phrases such as “First Family attending” and “First Family invited” to explain the girls’ attendance.

“The governor said, ‘I want the purpose and the reason for this travel to be clear,” Linda Perez, state director of administrative services, told the AP.

Palin charged the state $21,012 for 64 commercial flights and hotel accommodation for her three daughters after taking office in December 2006.

Among other trips, she allowed the three girls to join her at a snowmobile race, where her husband was racing, as well as a five-day trip to New York, while she was attending a conference.

Palin noted on travel forms that the girls had been invited to attend or participate in events on the governor’s schedule; a claim which has since been found to have been exaggerated.

Some organizers of the events said the Palin children had either shown up uninvited, or had only come after a request by the governor.

Alaska law does not specifically allow for expenses for a governor’s children but allows for payment of expenses for anyone conducting official state business.

Tony Knowles, the Democratic former governor of Alaska who lost to Palin in 2006, said he never charged the state for his three children’s commercial flights or travel as there was no valid reason for them to go on state business.