This controversy goes back more than a year. Then-Springfield News-Leader columnist Tony Messenger requested e-mail messages between the governor's office and anti-abortion groups. The governor's office said they didn't exist.

The governor's office went on to acknowledge that certain e-mail messages were deleted. The firing of Scott Eckersley, a legal counsel in the governor's office, led to an investigation -- and eventually a lawsuit. The settlement on Tuesday should mean the end to an e-mail saga that became political but was also about the public's right to know about the workings of an elected officeholder and his staff.

Under the settlement, investigators will get a look at more of the Blunt administration's e-mail messages. It's unclear if that will lead to any more answers to questions such as:
--What was in the deleted e-mail messages?
--When should government e-mail messages be saved, and for how long?
--Should the governor's then-Chief of Staff Ed Martin have been using a state e-mail system to send what were arguably political orders?

These are questions that defined a 13-month legal and political battle that fueled extensive speculation and rumors.

While bell-ringing for the Salvation Army in Springfield on Tuesday, Gov. Blunt attempted to declare victory when he was asked about the legal settlement by a KY3 News videographer.

"Jay Nixon's e-mail team, quite frankly, owes a lot of people a lot of apologies, especially the Missouri taxpayers, who for 13 months have seen false accusation made after false accusation," Blunt said.

Martin called the process a "witch hunt."

"I really think this is going to point back to Governor-elect Nixon and, as he goes into his administration, he needs to know that what he's done, he's not not going to get to wash his hands of it," Martin said.

Amid the saga, the Blunt administration installed a new permanent e-mail message retention system that is, in effect, a comprehensive archive program.

According to The Associated Press' David Lieb, Nixon is not yet using that policy during his transition to the governor's office.

Nixon's e-mail policy remains undefined, partly because of the budget situation that he'll face when sworn into office next month. It costs nearly half a million dollars to administer the new e-mail policy for all state offices and Nixon's team said they will review the cost-effectiveness of the program.

It is bound to get more scrutiny, partly because of an investigation that the attorney general ordered against Blunt.

"A lot of folks have had a lot of false accusations made against them. Now, a couple days before Christmas, everybody's dismissed," Blunt said.

Before the settlement, the e-mail lawsuit was scheduled for trial on Jan. 5, seven days before Blunt leaves office.