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Jared Kushner used personal email for some White House messages, says lawyer
The attorney said the communication often occurred when someone initiated the exchange by sending an email to Kushner’s personal rather than White House address.
President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, used his personal email account on dozens of occasions to communicate with colleagues in the White House, his lawyer said Sunday.
Between January and August, Kushner either received or responded to fewer than 100 emails from White House officials from his private account, attorney Abbe Lowell said in a statement.
“These usually forwarded news articles or political commentary and most often occurred when someone initiated the exchange by sending an email to his personal, rather than his White House, address,” Lowell said.
The attorney said Kushner, a key aide to Trump, uses his White House address to discuss White House business and that any non-personal emails have been forwarded to his official account and preserved.
Politico first reported Kushner’s use of a private email account.
The use of personal email to discuss government business is a politically freighted issue that factored prominently in last year’s presidential election.
Hillary Clinton faced an FBI investigation for much of her unsuccessful White House bid over her use of a private email server as secretary of state. Former FBI Director James Comey said that though Clinton and her aides were “extremely careless” in their handling of classified information, there was no evidence that anyone intended to break the law. He recommended against criminal prosecution.
Trump repeatedly argued during the campaign that Clinton deserved to be prosecuted for mishandling classified information and has continued to suggest that even after being elected president.
At a political event in Alabama on Friday, he responded to supporter chants of “lock her up” by saying, “You’ve got to speak to (Attorney General) Jeff Sessions about that.”
