Jared Kushner used a private email server to carry out official government business
Jared Kushner used a personal email address to conduct White House business, his lawyer has confirmed.
Mr Kushner, the President’s son-in-law and close adviser, corresponded with Trump administration officials about White House affairs using the personal account. Email recipients included former chief of staff Reince Priebus, former chief strategist Steve Bannon, National Economic Council director Gary Cohn, and spokesman Josh Raffel.
The emails usually concerned media coverage and event planning, according to Politico, who first reported the story.
A lawyer for Mr Kushner said the emails usually contained forwarded news articles or political commentary, and were most often initiated by the person on the other end.
“Mr. Kushner uses his White House email address to conduct White House business,” attorney Abbe Lowell said. “Fewer than 100 emails from January through August were either sent to or returned by Mr. Kushner to colleagues in the White House from his personal email account.”
Politico found no indication that Mr Kushner had shared any sensitive material on the account, or used it more than his official White House account for government business. Mr Kushner created the account in December, during the Trump team's transition to the White House.
The report is particularly interesting considering the Trump campaign’s relentless criticism of Hillary Clinton for using a private email server during her time as Secretary of State.
Ms Clinton’s reliance on her personal account to conduct government business sparked an FBI investigation last year. Donald Trump suggested the former Secretary should face criminal charges for her actions, inspiring his memorable campaign rally cheer of: “Lock her up!”
The story is also relevant in light of investigations into possible Trump team collusion with Russia, and growing questions about Mr Kushner’s role.
Mr Kusher reportedly asked Russian officials about setting up a private back channel between the Trump administration and Moscow in December. He was also present at a June 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer, Russian American lobbyist, and several other members of the Trump campaign team. Mr Kushner left this meeting – and conversations with some 100 other foreign nationals – off of his initial security clearance form.
In a statement issued this summer, Mr Kushner said he “did not collude, nor know of anyone else in the campaign who colluded, with any foreign government.” He added that he had “no improper contacts” and had not relied on Russian funds to finance his private-sector business activities.
“I hope that through my answers to questions, written statements and documents I have now been able to demonstrate the entirety of my limited contacts with Russian representatives during the campaign and transition,” he said.
