Newly released Palin e-mails show frustration and discussion of her marital status
Washington (CNN) - Thousands of newly released e-mails from former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin show her frustration with the increasing ethics complaints filed against her and the mounting legal costs her family was personally incurring.
Also there is one tantalizing e-mail from Sept. 26, 2007 - almost a full year before she was tapped for the unsuccessful GOP presidential ticket - with the subject line saying "Marital Problems." Addressing two of her gubernatorial aides, she said "So speaking of ... If we, er, when we get a divorce, does that quell 'conflict of interest' accusations about BP?"
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That is apparently a reference to the oil company her husband, Todd, worked for. The oil company and the state would have a lot of dealings, but what exactly is meant in referring to the conflict of interest is not clear.
There is no further explanation about whether Palin was being serious or whether it was meant as a joke or sarcasm.
In a Twitter post Saturday, Palin poked fun at the media for their treatment of her e-mail, writing: "Good work, media. My '07 'divorce' email was a joke mocking you for making up divorce rumors. Keep up the, er, credibility-building efforts!"
What she is referring to is unclear since the e-mail was written in 2007, a year before she was tapped to be on the Republican ticket and many months before her marital status would be the focus of national stories.
Palin adviser Doug McMarlin said the divorce comment wasn't meant to be taken seriously.
"Governor Palin was clearly speaking tongue-in-cheek in the email," McMarlin said. "This email was during her fifth pregnancy and the Palin marriage remains one of the most solid in any environment. We thank the media for their, er, continuing attention to this particular issue."
Seperately, a Palin friend told CNN: "That divorce mention was a joke. The 'er' should have been the first clue. If you do the math, she was just finding out about her fifth pregnancy so they were quite close and doing well."
The Palins' marital status has been the source of rumors for years since she emerged on the national stage in 2008.
Several Alaskan websites reported in the summer of 2009 – soon after Palin resigned as governor – that a divorce was impending. Representatives for Palin have in the past vehemently denied any talk of divorce.
A Palin associate told People magazine in August 2009: "No truth to any of the rumors...No divorce. No affairs." Palin posted on her Facebook page a note saying she and her husband "remain married (and) committed to each other and their family."
These newly released e-mails also show clearly how frustrated Palin was, in the months leading up to her resignation, with the intense focus on her and the cost of it.
In April 2009, when another ethics complaint was lodged against her, Palin wrote to some aides: "Unflippinbelievable...I'm sending this because you can relate to the bullcrap continuation of the hell these people put the family through."
Ethics charges against Palin included an allegation she fired Alaska's public safety commissioner over his failure to fire a state trooper who was involved in a divorce with Palin's sister, complaints over travel expenses, and whether she used her influence to get a supporter a state government job.
A month earlier, when talking about the numerous Freedom of Information requests made with the state and how to respond to a reporter's query, she wrote they had cost Alaska over $1 million.
And then she said "We've all had to pay for OWN legal defense in this political bloodsport-it's horrendous-why do you think Todd is on the slope today? i am paying to defend in my capacity as GOVERNOR-actions taking in my official position. This is unheard of anywhere else." She went on to say "I can't afford this job."
In the e-mails, she and her aides also talked about the controversy over her being out of the state in the winter and spring of 2009. One aide e-mailed her indicating Palin had spent a total of 94 days out of Alaska. She was told the number dropped to 84 if Palin's travel days were counted as "in-state" since she spent at least part of the day there.
These e-mails are part of a second batch of documents released by the state of Alaska as part of a Freedom of Information request, which included CNN, that originated in fall 2008 after Palin became the vice presidential nominee.
This batch mostly covers the period of October 1, 2008, through July 26, 2009, when Palin left office. The state was supposed to release these last fall, but asked for an extension through this month.
The e-mails were released Wednesday to reporters physically located in the state and discs containing them were mailed to the respective media organizations on the same day. The Anchorage Daily News posted copies on its website, and CNN was able to examine them there.
CNN Political Reporter Peter Hamby contributed to this report.
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One dumb broad to bad she wasn't runnimg , would be a shoe in for Obama
Poor Palin. The biggest "victim" of all time. She deserves all the misery that comes her way.
"Thousands of emails..." wow, I wonder how many of these were written on tax payer time? Factor in work emails and she must have been tied to her computer 24 hours a day.
Shows that when Palin take some heat... she packs up and runs. Obama/Biden 2012 still beatin' the heat!
Sounds like she was willing to show partiality to BP, and wanted to know if she could "skirt the rules".
What's new? thug.
Now I understand why she is a self-promoter and nothing else: she needed money. She was ignorant before and remains ignorant now – as well as bigoted and ill-spoken – but self-promotion to pay bills makes more sense now.
Why would any news organization write about this Charlatan? She's ancient history, a failed VP bid, a failed governorship, a few successful right wing whack job books, and a family of flakes.
Now its clear she was forced out
Who cares? Sarah has had her time of fame and profited more than she deserved. Get off the stage, you're an unnecessary distraction from even unimportant matters.
OMG!!! Not only is this imbecilic moron NOT A POLITICIAN, haven't we heard enough about this hillbilly trailer trash family. WE ARE THE ONES WHO ARE FRUSTRATED CNN. NOBODY GIVES A RAT'S BEHIND ABOUT THEM!!
She cheated on the eunuch and the eunuch cheated on her. They are not christians. They are traitors and members of the AK independent party (DOES ANYONE UNDERSTAND THIS!!!????).
The world will be a better place when they all disappear into the oblivion from where the mccain people found them!!!
ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The emails don't matter. Palin is still a shrill banshee without a future political career.
Does this woman finish anything? Good thing we didn't vote for her and McCant in 2008. Some people seriously wanted her one heartbeat away from leading this country. I get sick thinking about this scenario.
Congratulations libertards, CNN Political Ticker rather than fact checking Obama or printing any of the truth about the presidency of the most incompetent, inept, corrupt, union toady ever to hold the office is giving you a new chance to demean, diminish and degrade this woman and her family, that is what the liberally biased media does in this country.
I will take you Sarah! I thnk she is gorgeous!!!
wow, America has stooped to an all time low when we publish other people's emails. Legal or not....where's the ethics?
from the e-mails posted it sound smor elike she was planning on leaving and set up excuses to bail as Governor.
I am not a Palin fan, but come on...stay out of this. I think politicians should not have to forgo a private life just because they serve the people. Barring issues of corruption or illicit activities, lets stay out!
As much as I really don't like Sarah Palin, I don't think we should be leaking or reporting on her personal e-mails.
The er is her correcting her 'if' to a 'when'. That is the common use of those letters. So she was fairly decided on leaving him at that point.
Media, I love you, but Palin is no longer a "person of interest," so do the world a favor and drop her from your list of same.
While I do not agree much with Palin, excatly why is this news and why is it anyone's business? What's wrong CNN – nothing worth reporting in the world?
Now she cannot afford a divorce, because her leech of a husband would take this leech to the cleaners.
Hello CNN will you please stop lowering yourself!! This bimbo (Sarah) has no position in politics. Even her own party (the establishment) doesn't engage her in anything. The more you bring her in news , the more you make her important while she is not. She is not contributing anything to the country. Please let her go and everybody will forget her.
Is this the part where we're supposed to feel sorry for her. Seems like the GOP wants us to feel sorry for them and all their billionaire buddies. At least she's making a king's ransom with all of her schemes and can thus easily afford a vigorous defense to all the allegations leveled at her. Poor Sarah, baybee.....
Why don't we talk about Obama's familiy life. He was a African and Indian.... His mother left him. He had a drud addict father. He makes the Palins look like the Brady Bunch. Weak, liberal media.