GOP House Judiciary chair says it's 'awfully tough' for officials like Ivanka Trump to follow federal email rules

Sure, House Judiciary Committee chair Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) said on CNN Monday evening, it's fair to investigate Ivanka Trump's use of a private email account for government business. But some sympathy for President Trump's daughter and senior White House adviser is due, he added, because email rules are so tricky.

"When things like this come up, it's important people understand, they need to make sure they're doing what they can," Goodlatte said. "And it's awfully tough, as everyone knows, when you're sending emails about a lot of different things, to make sure that you're doing it according to the rules in the White House or wherever you're doing it."

He echoed an argument made by other prominent Republicans that Trump's email misconduct was "very different" from that of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. CNN host Erin Burnett was unconvinced, answering Goodlatte's "awfully tough" line with a quick, "I'm sure Hillary Clinton would agree with you."

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Watch a clip of Goodlatte's comments below. Bonnie Kristian