The Oregon Governor's office has released the first 5,000 of more than 12,000 emails archived from the private account of the state's disgraced former governor.
An initial glimpse into the trove of emails adds nuance to the ethics scandal that drove Democratic Governor John Kitzhaber from office back in February.
The release comes in response to public records requests from numerous news organizations. Oregon Governor Kate Brown's office said the messages are from a private Gmail account that Kitzhaber used for official business. Many of the emails are mundane but several dozen show the governor and his staff working hard to polish talking points about the governor's policy proposals, including those related to green energy.
Kitzhaber resigned in February amid a federal ethics investigation. The Democrat and his fiancée, Cylvia Hayes, are under scrutiny for influence-peddling allegations involving green energy firms.
The current batch of messages mostly dates from 2011 and 2012, long before pressure mounted on Kitzhaber to step down. Brown's office said it's continuing to review Kitzhaber's emails and will release more in the near future.
Copyright 2015 Northwest News Network
