State Attorney General Brown said late Tuesday that he'll look into allegations that the California State University Stanislaus Foundation dumped documents related to its invitation to have Sarah Palin come speak at the school.

He also wants to find out why the foundation has refused a California Public Records Act request that essentially asks how much its paying to have Palin speak at the campus, part of a financially strapped Cal State system. (The foundation is a nonprofit organization with separate finances, but Brown does have jurisdiction over nonprofits in the state). Brown stated that Palin has recently been paid $100,000 to speak elsewhere.

Brown stated he will look at documents that State Sen. Leland Yee got his hands on after they were pulled from a dumpster by students at CSU Stanislaus. They are said to contain part of Palin's speaking contract, although Brown has yet to authenticate them. He wants to know how such documents, denied as public information under the records request, ended up in the trash.

“This is not about Sarah Palin,” Brown said. “She has every right to speak at a university event, and schools should strive to bring to campus a broad range of speakers. The issues are public disclosure and financial accountability in organizations embedded in state-run universities. We're not saying any allegation is true, but we owe it to the taxpayers to thoroughly check out every serious allegation.”

Palin was asked to speak at a $500-a-plate event June 25 celebrating the university's 50th anniversary.

Brown indicates he plans to get all up in the CSU Stanislaus Foundation's finances, which include $20 million in the bank and $3 million in spending each year on university “endeavors.” He warned the foundation not to trash any more documents.

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