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Oregon Requests Probe Of Email Leak

File photo. At least two recall petitions have been filed against Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber.
Office of the Governor
File photo. At least two recall petitions have been filed against Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber.

The Oregon Department of Administrative Services has requested a criminal investigation over the matter of who leaked some sensitive emails to the media.

Whoever it was sent the emails to Portland's Willamette Week newspaper. The apparent leak included communication between then-governor John Kitzhaber and his attorney. Oregon's Chief Operating Officer described the leak as a "security breach" and requested an investigation by the Oregon State Police.

It's all part of the fallout over possible ethics lapses by Kitzhaber that led to his resignation last week, just one month after the Democrat took office for a fourth term.

The Willamette Week's report showed attempts by Kitzhaber and his attorney to minimize damage from an ethics investigation. A separate criminal investigation of Kitzhaber is ongoing.

Copyright 2015 Northwest News Network

Chris Lehman
Chris Lehman graduated from Temple University with a journalism degree in 1997. He landed his first job less than a month later, producing arts stories for Red River Public Radio in Shreveport, Louisiana. Three years later he headed north to DeKalb, Illinois, where he worked as a reporter and announcer for NPR–affiliate WNIJ–FM. In 2006 he headed west to become the Salem Correspondent for the Northwest News Network.