GOP announcement of Palin showing proves premature

[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/03/17/art.palin1.cnn.jpg caption="It remains unclear if Palin is set to address congressional Republicans in June."]WASHINGTON (CNN) - Congressional Republican leaders made headlines on Monday when they announced that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin would be the keynote speaker at a major fundraising dinner in June. But it appears the former vice presidential nominee's political staff never told her.

Bill McAllister, a spokesman for the governor, said she was aware of the invitation, but that she had not actually accepted it.

"I communicated with the governor directly and she did not know anything about it," McAllister told the Anchorage Daily News in a story published Tuesday. "I pointed out the (National Republican Senatorial Committee) press release and she was like, 'No.'"

The dispute appears to stem from a miscommunication between Palin's gubernatorial staff and aides that work for her political action committee, SarahPAC. Palin created SarahPAC in part to pay for out-of-state political travel.

NRSC spokeswoman Amber Wilkerson said the booking was approved by SarahPAC, but that the governor's staff had not been made aware.

McAllister told CNN that "the governor herself had not confirmed," but left open the possibility that she will still speak at the fundraiser. "As far as I know, it's still under review," he said in an e-mail.

Palin has kept a relatively low national profile since the November elections. She did attend the exclusive, closed-press Alfafa Club Dinner, where she met President Obama. But the governor decided against attending both the National Governor's Association meeting and the Conservative Political Action Conference in February.