"Any person has the right to record telephone conversations at any time, 1) as long he/she is a part in the conversation and 2) even though failing to inform the other party the conversation may be recorded."
I wonder what truly applies to e-mail conversations in this case.
I think the problem may have been that Handley's mother unknowingly violated the plea agreement by discussing the details publicly. I think the author removed them because he did not want to risk negatively affecting the sentence, not because he himself was threatened with legal action.