State releases copies of e-mails between Sanford, Argentinean

Image by The StateImage by 20090624-sanford-email.jpg

Update June 25: Links updated to connect to copies of full e-mails.

Also, for the most part we'll back off on digging into this part of the cycle about the Sanford story and await further development, but if you've got an itch for more, this story at The State has links to the dozen-or-so stories from today's paper.

Update June 25, mid-morning: The woman has been identified as Maria Belen Chapur, a 43-year-old divorced mother of two children. Read about it at Wikipedia.

First reporting:

After Governor Mark Sanford admitted to an affair, The State has released excerpts of three e-mails between Sanford and his mistress, named only as "Maria."

The e-mails cover several days from July 4th to the 10th 2008, and present an emotional lingering between the pair.

Hop on over to the paper to read them.

The State is promising to release the full e-mails tomorrow. The paper also notes they've had them since December -- the reason for releasing them just now is not clear.

The paper also has a copy of Jenny Sanford's statement.

You can read the back story on our Mark Sanford topic page.

Also, know that an old number shows that the state spend money sending Sanford on trips. This will be a talking point as the future of Sanford's role in South Carolina plays out.

The Augusta Chronicle reported in December:

Gov. Mark Sanford ranks in the top 50 based on the total amount he spent on trips paid by his office and those paid by the state Commerce Department. Mr. Sanford has traveled to China, Argentina and Brazil through the Commerce Department, which has travel reports showing taxpayers covering $21,488 for those trips.

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