Government officials may be using personal e-mail accounts to bypass FOI laws

Sarah Palin used her Yahoo e-mail account to discuss official state business when she served as Alaska governor. Could this be a trend?

John McCain and Sarah Palin say they want to reform Washington.

But Palin's personal Yahoo e-mail account raises questions about the validity of that claim. The Alaska governor apparently uses the account to conduct state business, as do others in her office. And a fight has been under way for the release of hundreds of e-mails from that account that were withheld from public-records requests.

Palin should speak out about the issue, letting the public know why she used a personal account to conduct state business and why that doesn't cast a shadow on her reformist image. Before Palin was selected as the Republican vice presidential nominee, she presented her 2006 campaign as one that was "open and transparent."

More here.