WASHINGTON – The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Tuesday that if allegations that White House senior officials used personal email accounts to conduct official business prove to be true, Congress would investigate just as it did former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private email use.
“If any individual is using the private email account for official purposes in this administration,” Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., said before walking into a private Senate Intelligence Committee meeting, “they will be held to the same standards” as Clinton.
News reports allege that President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner used a private email account to send or receive about 100 work-related emails during the administration’s first seven months. Steve Bannon, the former chief White House strategist, former chief of staff Reince Priebus, and other advisers including Gary Cohn and Stephen Miller also were cited as sending or receiving official emails in personal accounts.
It also has been reported that Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and adviser, used an unofficial email account for official business.
“I’m looking to find out what kind of business was transferred,” Sen. Joe Manchin D-W.Va., said while exiting the intelligence meeting. “Were they making everybody aware of what they were doing?”
Burr noted that the news reports of the high-level aides mishandling mishandled the use of personal emails have not yet been investigated officially and no official charges have been made.
Burr indicated that the people being looked at closely did not use the email communication inappropriately in the way Clinton did, but does look forward to a close review.
Clinton was investigated by Congress and the FBI for setting up a personal server and using it for her official emails. The FBI investigation centered on whether classified information had been jeopardized; it concluded that classified information had been sent via Clinton’s personal email but there was no proof national security was jeopardized.
“I’m sure it [the Trump emails] will be scrutinized, and if in fact it’s wrong, then appropriate action should be taken by the White House counsel,” Burr said.