Wilbur Ross is reportedly the 8th Trump official to use private email for government business
The State Department's intensifying Hillary Clinton email probe just got even more ironic.
Over the weekend, President Trump's State Department doubled down on its seemingly everlasting investigation into Clinton's use of a private email for government business. And as a Washington Post story published Monday reports, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross just became at least the eighth Trump official to do essentially the same thing.
The Post story paints a brutal picture of Ross: That he's "old enough to get away with a nap during business hours and young enough to ... observe naked people cocooned in plastic wrap at an arts benefit in the Hamptons," and that he's best summed up as a "$600 slipper of a man." And it also reveals Ross "has used private email to conduct government business," according to emails the nonprofit watchdog Democracy Forward obtained via a records request.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
That puts Ross in the same country club with several of his current and former Trump colleagues. Back in the day, ex-White House Strategist Stephen Bannon, former chief of staff Reince Priebus, and two other former Trump officials were all reported to have used private email accounts in the White House. The current senior adviser squad of Jared Kushner, Stephen Miller, and Ivanka Trump also used private email accounts at one point or another — and like Ross, they're still on the job. Kathryn Krawczyk
Update 4:50 p.m. ET: A Department of Commerce official said in a statement that the "hysterical, baseless allegations of illegal activity are without merit."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Senegal's Bassirou Diomaye Faye: from prison to Africa's youngest elected leader
Why everyone's talking about The 44-year-old has resonated with young people by promising to shake up the establishment and enact economic reforms
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
How social media is limiting political content
The Explainer Critics say Meta's 'extraordinary move' to have less politics in users' feeds could be 'actively muzzling civic action'
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
'Unthinkable tragedy'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Reddit IPO values social media site at $6.4 billion
Speed Read The company makes its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Housing costs: the root of US economic malaise?
speed read Many voters are troubled by the housing affordability crisis
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Feds cap credit card late fees at $8
speed read The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule to save households an estimated $10 billion a year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Immigration helped the US economy outpace peers
speed read The U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.2% last quarter
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
4-day workweek gets boost from UK study
Speed Read Following a six-month trial, the majority of participating British companies are still using the truncated schedule
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US sues to block Kroger-Albertsons merger
Speed Read The Federal Trade Commission sued to block the $24.6 billion merger between the grocery giants
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Nvidia sees historic stock rise on AI chips success
Speed Read U.S. chipmaker Nvidia achieved the biggest one-day increase in value of any company in history
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New York may seize Trump's assets for $450M penalty
Speed Read The former president likely owes $600 million from two civil judgments in New York
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published