Palin skewers media over email release

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) chided news outlets on Thursday for demanding the release of tens of thousand of pages of emails from her administration, saying that they turned up nothing controversial. 

“It certainly shows the priorities of what was once a respected cornerstone of our democracy — the mainstream media. And we see their priorities are quite skewed,” the potential 2012 presidential candidate said during an interview on Fox Business network. 

{mosads}The state of Alaska last week released over 24,000 pages of emails from Palin’s sometimes-tumultuous tenure as governor, which was cut short by her resignation in the summer of 2009. The release came at the behest of news organizations and other groups that had hoped to uncover new details about her governorship after she was made the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee.

The emails detail many of the policy battles and political feuds she had as governor.

“I hope that folks who read the emails learned a lot about oil and gas policy and how important it is to take steps toward energy independence here in America, which Alaska is a leader of,” she said.

“And fish and game conservation, that was a big priority of mine. Second Amendment rights. I hope people who read the emails understood why I opposed Obama’s stimulus package and why I vetoed funds out of the stimulus package,” she added.

In explaining her decision to resign, Palin cited the toll that the numerous ethics investigations against her was taking on her and her family. But the released emails turned up no smoking gun implicating her. 

Around 2,000 emails were withheld by the state due to privacy concerns. State officials are also examining gaps in the email release, especially from her first month in office.