U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller was at times stressed, paranoid and deceitful during his employment with the Fairbanks North Star Borough, according to records released under court order Tuesday afternoon.

When he got caught doing something wrong - using his colleagues' computers to advance his own political interests -- he lied about it repeatedly and at one point suggested it was his colleagues, not him, who had in fact broken borough policy, the records show.

Miller worked at the borough from 2002 to 2009 as a part-time attorney. Many records show he was a high performer -- achieving pay increases and exceptional performance reviews, and earning a master's in economics that the borough helped pay for. He was instrumental in litigation involving valuation of the trans-Alaska pipeline, which carries more than 10 percent of U.S. domestic oil production. He was so good, in fact, that his value to the case spared him the embarrassment of being fired when he broke the borough's ethics code, according to former borough Mayor Jim Whitaker.

But while Miller's public achievements may have been rosy, newly obtained records show a much different scenario was playing out behind the scenes. The story is woven throughout dozens of pages of his borough personnel file and e-mails involving Miller, documents that were released by the borough Tuesday after first Alaska Dispatch and then other news media went to court to force their disclosure.

Miller, who is locked in a tight three-way (Read "Joe Miller admits to lying but do Alaskans care?") race for Senate with incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Democrat challenger Scott McAdams, has been stalling release of the records and last week fought their disclosure in a public records case filed by news media.

He did not respond to a request for an interview for this story.

In March 2008, Miller was placed on administrative leave for 15 days and suspended without pay for three days after getting caught using co-workers' computers in an effort to influence Republican Party politics. He was also required to undergo mandatory counselling.

Miller has long been a political crony of former Gov. Sarah Palin, and in March 2008 was assisting in her effort to get Randy Ruedrich booted as the Alaska Republican Party's chairman -- a political takeover that ultimately failed.