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CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) -- Gov. Nikki Haley's administration is refusing to release some emails related to an ongoing ethics investigation, something a media attorney says is an abuse of the law.

The Post and Courier of Charleston reports the newspaper sought all the administration's emails relating to an ongoing House Ethics Committee investigation concerning whether Haley illegally lobbied while a state representative from Lexington County.

Haley's attorney says the requested documents are exempt from disclosure because they represent the work product of a legal counsel.

But media attorney Jay Bender says the attorney-client privilege likely only applies to the governor herself, not her staff. He calls it another example of a public body overreaching to hide records that should be public.

House Ethics has scheduled a public hearing in Haley's case June 28.

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