MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen cleared Gov. Jim Doyle on Tuesday of any wrongdoing in an election-year controversy surrounding the approval of a state power plant sale.

The controversy centered on allegations of a connection between more than $40,000 in donations to Doyle's re-election campaign and the sale of the Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant.

In November 2004, the state Public Service Commission denied an application by two power utilities to sell a nuclear power plant. However, the three-person panel reversed its decision in March 2005. Around the same time, power utility executives from Wisconsin Public Service Corp. and Wisconsin Power and Light Co. donated $44,000 to Doyle's campaign, WISC-TV reported.

Public Service Commission members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate.

Doyle has always rejected the suspicion of a link between the commission's decision and the campaign donations. During the election cycle, Doyle was routinely criticized by political opponents for the appearance of illegal influence. In an interview with WISC-TV in December 2005, Doyle said that any connection between the campaign cash and the power plant approval was "absurd."

On Tuesday, Van Hollen bolstered Doyle's claims when he said that no evidence could be found of anything illegal.

"After a thorough investigation, we have not found any evidence linking campaign donations to Gov. Doyle to the PSC decision to approve the sale of the Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant," said Van Hollen. "Nor did we find any evidence that the Governor's Office improperly influenced the PSC decision in any way."

Stay tuned to WISC-TV and Channel 3000 for continuing coverage.