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Alaska releases Sarah Palin’s e-mails The state of Alaska on June 10 released more than 13,000 e-mails that shed light on Sarah Palin’s tenure as governor — before she became a vice-presidential candidate, a reality-TV star, and an undeclared heavyweight in the 2012 race for the White House.
Alaska official Jim Hoff, center, holds a dolly with boxes containing thousands of pages of Sarah Palin's e-mails as CNN cameraman Jim Castel, left, and CNN correspondent Drew Griffin watch just before the documents were released on Friday in Juneau.
Brian Wallace
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AP
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Sharon Leighhow, spokeswoman for the Alaska governor's office, holds the elevator moments before releasing thousands of printed pages of Sarah Palin's e-mails.
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Boxes containing thousands of pages of Sarah Palin's e-mails are seen moments before being released.
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Boxes of copies of Sarah Palin's e-mails from her time as governor of Alaska are loaded on dollies for news organizations at a Juneau government office.
Rachel Weiner
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Reporters load boxes containing thousands of pages of Sarah Palin's e-mails.
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A worker rolls a cart with boxes containing thousands of pages of Sarah Palin's e-mails.
Brian Wallace
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Reporters roll a cart across the street with boxes containing thousands of pages of Sarah Palin's e-mails .
Brian Wallace
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AP
On Jan. 28, 2007, she wrote staffers to encourage them to speak to the press. “There was a quip in this morning’s ADN [Anchorage Daily News] re: a ‘ban’ from me on anyone voicing their opinions on matters before us. … Since this is totally false, and leaves me at a loss as to how a reporter would have ever received word of something that is the opposite of what I’ve expressed to all of you, I’ll clarify again what has already been expressed by me as my desire to see you all have the freedom to communicate with the public and the press in any and all manner you deem appropriate. … I will write to the ‘Ear reporter and clarify for her also.”
Courtesy of the Alaskan government
On Feb. 12, 2007, more than a year before she stepped onto the national stage, it appears she had already started developing her complicated relationship with the press. In a note to her close advisors, she writes that she regretted having looked at some unfavorable press on the Anchorage Daily News Web site.</p><p>“It was another offensive blog entry. And it sure leaves me puzzled as to the rumors that are able to spread like wildfire. Kind of makes my stomach turn over,” she wrote. “Looking at that blog was also my reminder to NOT waste my time and energy peeking at it to find out what’s on readers minds.”
Courtesy of the Alaskan government
Palin also expressed concern that she did not have the time to personally monitor and respond to coverage. On Feb. 20, 2007, she wrote that she “will try to carve out time in the day to more fully scan news clippings and try to catch some of the talk shows via internet, but so far I haven’t even found an extra minute to be able to tune into the shows unless I’m ... driving in my car.” She told staffers: “i need folks to really help ramp up accurate counter comments to the misinformation that’s being spread out there.’ Around the same time, Palin suggested that it was a waste of time to obsess over comments about her and her administration.
Courtesy of the Alaskan government
As a mother of two teens, Palin was concerned about the alcohol stored in the liquor cabinet in the governor’s mansion, and suggested that it be stowed away in boxes. “With so many kids and teens coming and going in that house, esp during this season of celebrations for young people — proms, graduations, etc, I want to send the msg that we can be — and “the People’s House” needs to be — alcohol-free,” she wrote to Erika Fagerstrom, the executive residence manager, on May 6, 2007. Her aides saw an opportunity in this request. “Might I suggest that you box some of those bottles ... and we tape you doing so while also speaking to the message,” her spokeswoman Meg Stapleton chimed in. It’s unclear if this public service announcement video ever got made, but Stapleton indicated in her e-mail that the alcohol would be boxed up regardless.
Courtesy of the Alaskan government
In another case in June 2007, she criticized aides for <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/palin-emails/june12007-june132007.html#annotation/a23827">failing to alert her to a fire</a> that devastated a school, and noted that another politician was quickly on the scene and on television showing his support. “Our DPS comm people should have notified me — instead saw it on the news,” she wrote. Palin spends a considerable amount of her early months after winning the governor’s office minding requests from supporters to get onto state boards and commissions, and checking on their progress in being appointed.
Courtesy of the Alaskan government
John Bitney was a high school classmate of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) and a key member of her 2006 gubernatorial campaign team. When she took office she made him her legislative director. Then, in July of 2007, the governor discovered that he was having an affair with the wife of a Palin family friend and Bitney was fired. Emails released today detail some of the back-and-forth in the days around Bitney’s departure, including Palin’s belief that the former staffer was behind negative press. “Bitney and Deb [Richter]. Still can’t believe it - and hope it’s not true about the two of them together at the mansion when I left Deb stay there while I was gone,” Palin wrote to mansion staffer Erika Fagerstrom on July 11, 2007. “Ugh! I sure learned a lesson there!
Courtesy of the Alaskan government
A few days later, she wrote of Bitney leaving the administration and suggested he was helping plant negative items in local papers. “Bitney finally cleaned out his Juneau office, and upon hearing who he had gleefully assisting him with the task, a few more pieces of a puzzle come together. Kevin Jardell was his guy -- and its making some sense that Kevin has been kept in some loops that harm administration’s mission to clean up Juneau politics.” Jardell was a former staffer in former Gov. Frank Murkowski’s administration who went on to lobby for ExxonMobil. Palin posits that an anonymous blogger on the Anchorage Daily News website criticizing her pipeline planes is Jardell and concludes, “Anyway, as more is revealed, more makes sense about some of the internal problems we had with communications.” According to former Palin staffer Frank Bailey, the governor wrote to him a followup email, “Dammit. He’s a liar and a slimy lying prick.” That email is not in the release. Palin’s office initially told the press that Bitney was fired for personal reasons, but during the 2008 presidential campaign a spokeswoman cited “poor job performance” as the reason.In her memoir “Going Rogue,” Palin wrote that Bitney was poisoning her relationship with state legislators, encouraging her to take a too-aggressive approach. She adds, “We learned the legislative director had been too busy with his personal affairs to attend to much state business.” Bitney has contested these allegations.
Courtesy of the Alaskan government
In a note to her staff on July 30, 2007, said this about a letter to the editor in the Alaska Daily News (adn): "...in response to the negative letter to the editor in todays adn re: military picnic: i'll pen a response to that, so pls hgave whomever organized it or chose the theme to send a quick email on the purpose or that that went into them choosing the theme. cant believe someone could turn that one into a negative.
Courtesy of the Alaskan government
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Section:/politics
![On Jan. 28, 2007, she wrote staffers to encourage them to speak to the press. “There was a quip in this morning’s ADN [Anchorage Daily News] re: a ‘ban’ from me on anyone voicing their opinions on matters before us. … Since this is totally false, and leaves me at a loss as to how a reporter would have ever received word of something that is the opposite of what I’ve expressed to all of you, I’ll clarify again what has already been expressed by me as my desire to see you all have the freedom to communicate with the public and the press in any and all manner you deem appropriate. … I will write to the ‘Ear reporter and clarify for her also.”](/rf/image_606w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2011/06/10/National-Politics/Images/dec-4-2007-feb-20-2007-136.jpg)
![John Bitney was a high school classmate of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) and a key member of her 2006 gubernatorial campaign team. When she took office she made him her legislative director. Then, in July of 2007, the governor discovered that he was having an affair with the wife of a Palin family friend and Bitney was fired. Emails released today detail some of the back-and-forth in the days around Bitney’s departure, including Palin’s belief that the former staffer was behind negative press. “Bitney and Deb [Richter]. Still can’t believe it - and hope it’s not true about the two of them together at the mansion when I left Deb stay there while I was gone,” Palin wrote to mansion staffer Erika Fagerstrom on July 11, 2007. “Ugh! I sure learned a lesson there!](/rf/image_606w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2011/06/11/National-Politics/Images/july172007-july302007-141.jpg)
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