Watson blog

Alaska AG: Palin e-mails to be released by May 31

JUNEAU, Alaska – Alaska's attorney general is granting state officials' request for an extension until May 31 to release potentially thousands of e-mails that Sarah Palin sent and received while she was governor.

But John Burns says this comes with the "unequivocal expectation" that all records that aren't privileged will be released by then. Already, public records requests for the e-mails have been pending for more than two years.

The governor's office and Department of Law requested the extension so they can finish reviewing more than 26,500 pages of records.

In a memo granting the extension, Burns says several circumstances justify more time, including the need for a careful, thorough review. He says that serves interests in both a transparent government and in protecting privileged or confidential information from inadvertent disclosure.