Judge Orders Pruitt To Hand Over Emails Today

Today is the deadline for former Oklahoma attorney general Scott Pruitt to hand over thousands of emails. A judge set the deadline last week, a day before Pruitt was confirmed as the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Center for Media and Democracy first requested the emails in 2015 over concern for Pruitt's interests with energy companies as attorney general, specifically oil, gas, and coal companies, and conservative organizations.

Nearly 2,600 emails have been requested.

The judge's order, though, does not mean all the emails have to be released. Pruitt's office can hold back documents that are exempt under the state's records law. In 2015, the CMD sued based on their argument Pruitt was improperly withholding the emails.

Pruitt's office says it is answering requests in the order in which they are received.

Once Pruitt was sworn in as head of the EPA, Governor Mary Fallin named secretary of state Mike Hunter as his replacement.