White House reportedly launches probe into private email accounts
White House officials are investigating the use of private email to conduct government business by several of President Trump's top aides, four officials with knowledge of the matter told Politico.
The internal investigation was launched after Politico and The New York Times reported earlier this week that at least six current and former officials — including President Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, daughter Ivanka Trump, and former Chief of Staff Reince Priebus — used private accounts to send and receive work-related emails. Officials are looking at emails on the White House server, and are focusing on Kushner and Ivanka Trump's private email domain; Kushner's lawyer said his client has fewer than 100 emails about government business in his private account, and they have been forwarded to his White House account.
White House lawyers were shocked when they found out aides were using private emails for work, officials told Politico, and several White House staffers were livid by the revelation. It's unclear if any confidential messages were exchanged, and the investigation, which could last several months and is being led by the White House counsel's office, will attempt to figure that out.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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