Palin E-Mails: Judge Orders State To Preserve

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A judge has ordered the state of Alaska to preserve any government-related e-mails that Gov. Sarah Palin sent from private accounts.

Anchorage Superior Court Judge Craig Stowers ruled Friday in the lawsuit brought by Anchorage resident Andree McLeod against Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee.

Palin has occasionally used private e-mail accounts to conduct state business, and her Yahoo accounts were hacked last month. The hacking of Palin's private account was significant because it showed that using private e-mail accounts to conduct state business would be vulnerable to being exposed.

It wasn't widely known that the governor and her staff were using private e-mail accounts until McLeod filed the first of several open records requests earlier this year that yielded some of the e-mail traffic _ much of it redacted for what were deemed privacy reasons.

The judge ordered the attorney general to contact Yahoo and other private carriers to preserve any e-mails sent and received on those accounts. If the e-mails were destroyed when the accounts were deactivated, he directed state officials to have the companies attempt to resurrect the e-mails.

"We shouldn't be in a position where public records have been lost because the governor didn't do what every other state employee knows to do, which is to use an official, secure state e-mail account to conduct state business," McLeod said after the 90-minute hearing.

"It's a dereliction of the governor and her duties," she said.

Assistant Attorney General Mike Mitchell told the court that the governor is no longer using private e-mail to conduct state business.

Stowers ordered e-mails of Palin's staff members who used private accounts to be preserved, as well. Mitchell was unsure if these other employees had also stopped using the private accounts.

Palin's e-mail account with Yahoo Inc. was compromised last month by a hacker who revealed as evidence a few inconsequential personal messages she has received since John McCain selected her as his running mate.

Palin used "gov.sarah" in one of the Yahoo e-mail addresses she sometimes used to conduct state business. The hacker targeted her separate "gov.palin" account. Both have been shut down.

Comments

[honeydiva]

oh please, nothing is every truly deleted. they can always be retrieved unless you are very sophisticated in knowing the tricks of the trade. but i'm sure she has a few hackers with a few tech tricks up their sleeves on her side... so maybe that order was needed indeed...lol

[Indedave]

Go ahead, Sarah, press that delete key. The law doesn't apply to you. heh heh.

[Obibrenner]

Hmmm, she won't respond to a subpoena, won't release her school records, won't directly address whether or not RAPE victims had to pay for their own rape evidence collection kits, attended her husband's radical anti-American group whose sole purpose is to overthrow the U.S. government's union with Alaska, and to whom as late as June 08 told this group in a video taped address to "Keep Up The Good Work", and we expect that she will follow a judges order?

Yeah, right. And I have bridge to nowhere that she never reported. She's too busy to answer questions because she's too busy driving:

"THE HATE TALK EXPRESS"

[Workinwithu]

BREAKING NEWS: MSNBC REPORTING ON 'TROOPERGATE' NEW INFORMATION

[kalli007]

I dont see any

[on2them]

Didn't another judge order the same thing to Dick Cheney?

Maybe McPaliban is Dick's love child.

[kalli007]

"An assistant attorney general told the court that the governor is no longer using private e-mail to conduct state business."

Oh, well arent we glad?

[kidvidkid]

"An assistant attorney general told the court that the governor is no longer using private e-mail to conduct state business."

Admission of guilt?

[PeaceOnEarth62]

ABSOLUTELY!

More info to come.

She should be brought up on charges RE: using private email accounts to conduct state business. Could be a Homeland Security risk don't you think? She obviously has no regard for the rules and regulations set forth on how public officials are supposed to behave. Very mavericky.

Dereliction of duties is what was stated in the article. Palin is NOT the person we want to be VPOTUS or POTUS.

Vote Obama/Biden

[oba08]

this woman scares me so much, she and mcsame is bad for america,

[rblaquinta]

Whoa .......what goes around comes around!!!!!!! Hey folks you do have a justice system........

[bootcamp]

McCainPalin has nowhere to go now but down. He can run away from President Bush, but he can't run away from the Republican Party. The Republicans will be regarded from now on as "the party that wrecked America." Over the weeks ahead, as carnage in the economy and the financial markets ramps up, it will become increasingly clear. It is important that this meme be spread through the internet. I urge all commentators to adopt and spread the idea that the Republicans are "the party that wrecked America." It will work because it is the truth. Use it freely. Just spread the word.

[robXdion]

Here it comes. . . . . .