Emails: Were Palin, Aides Hiding from the Law?

October 2, 2008— -- Earlier this year, a close aide to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin investigated whether emails from private accounts belonging to state officials could be obtained by prosecutors or state investigators. She forwarded her findings to Palin and Palin's husband Todd.

The emails raise new concerns about whether Palin and her top aides used private email accounts in an attempt to conduct state business away from view of the public – or investigators. Read emails here and here.

The so-called "Troopergate" scandal has given Palin's email habits new significance. Two probes are looking at whether Palin misused her power in firing former Alaska Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan; investigators in both inquiries are believed to be reviewing emails from the governor and her staff for evidence of possible wrongdoing.

The emails in question were obtained through a public records request by Alaska ethics advocate and self-described independent government watchdog Andree McLeod, who provided them to ABC News.

In addition to Palin's state-run email address, the vice-presidential candidate used at least two private email accounts with Yahoo!, at least one set up from a privately-maintained domain, "PalinForGovernor.com," and another set up from a third private domain, the McCain-Palin campaign confirmed yesterday. The campaign would not disclose the name of the third domain.

Emails to and from Palin -- some obtained by hackers and posted online, others released through records requests -- show Palin used private email accounts to conduct state business. But the McCain-Palin campaign has insisted she used the separate accounts to keep her personal and official business separate.

"As a champion of government accountability and transparency, Gov. Palin was exercising an abundance of caution to ensure that all state and personal business matters were being kept separate.  Gov. Palin is committed to serving with the highest regard toward ethics," said campaign spokeswoman Meg Stapleton.

The campaign denied the private email accounts were part of any attempt to hide communications about state business between Palin and her aides. While Palin has shut down her Yahoo! accounts, all of the emails in those accounts have been maintained, according to campaign spokesman Taylor Griffin.