The bodies of email messages often reveal the most detail for a given piece of correspondence, yet getting them can often be difficult. In order to obtain the bodies of email, statutory and case law has required that requesters be specific as to the source of the emails (either sender of recipient), as well as the date range and subject matter.
Oftentimes, a strategy that can be employed by requesters to obtain the bodies of email messages would be to first file an OPRA request for copies of the email logs for a public employee’s email account during the date range in question. Then, once you are in possession of the email logs, use the email logs to formulate a future OPRA request where you request to see copies of the specific bodies of email messages of interest that you have identified from the email logs.
The following are example requests made for this type of record on OPRAmachine:
Requesting a copy of a specific email - 9⁄12 email from Brennan to BOE