Fresh twists in Trump White House personal email drama

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The developing scandal over senior Trump administration aides using personal email for official business took a new twist on Thursday, as the White House reportedly launched an internal investigation.

Citing four unnamed officials, Politico said the effort began this week after it reported that President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, and other senior White House officials had used private email accounts to exchange messages for government business.

White House senior advisor Jared Kushner and his wife Ivanka Trump /Xinhua Photo

CNN reported on Thursday evening that Kushner did not disclose the use of a personal email account in a behind-closed-doors interview with Senate intelligence committee staff over Russian interference in the US election. The chair and vice chair of the committee have sent a letter to Kushner, asking him to check that he has handed over relevant information from all accounts.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders, when asked if Trump was concerned about the reported use of private emails, told reporters earlier on Thursday: "The White House has been clear and instructs all staff to fully comply with the Presidential Records Act. All staff has been briefed on the need to preserve those records, and will continue to do so."

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders arrives for a press briefing at the White House‍ on September 5, 2017. /Reuters Photo

During Trump’s 2016 election campaign, the Republican real estate developer attacked Democratic rival Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server for official correspondence when she was Secretary of State under President Barack Obama.

Some of Clinton’s messages were later determined to have contained classified information.

The White House probe could take several weeks or even months to complete as officials are searching for all emails sent or received about government business, Politico reported.

Politico earlier reported that other senior Trump aides had also used private email accounts, including former Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, former chief strategist Steve Bannon and economic adviser Gary Cohn.

The New York Times reported on Monday that private accounts were also used by the president’s daughter Ivanka Trump after she became a White House adviser and by Stephen Miller, a senior Trump adviser.

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Source(s): Reuters