White House Reportedly Probes Officials' Private Emails Possibly Used for Work

The Politico media outlet reported that the White House launched an investigation into the use of private emails for the government work by officials.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The White House launched an internal investigation into the use of private email accounts for the government work by senior officials after reports on the issue emerged, local media reported.

The move comes after the Politico media outlet reported earlier this week that US Presidential Adviser Jared Kushner may have used private email to discuss media coverage, event planning and other subjects with administration officials and outside advisers during the presidential transition.

Following the reports, Democrats in the US Congress have called for an investigation into Kushner’s email usage, with ranking Democrat on the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Elijah Cummings warning Kushner on Monday not to delete any messages from his personal account.

.@RepCummings: Now we have #Priebus, #Ivanka, & #Kushner using unofficial devices to communicate and do official #WhtieHouse business.

— House OversightDems (@OversightDems) 27 сентября 2017 г.

According to CNN, Kushner has failed to reveal his personal email to the Senate intelligence committee during his closed interview.

Four officials familiar with the situation told Politico late on Thursday that the probe included pulling emails on the White House server to and from senior officials' private accounts. The investigation especially focuses on the email accounts of Kushner and Ivanka Trump, Kushner's wife and daughter of US President Donald Trump.

According to Politico's sources, the investigation may last for several weeks while a White House spokesperson declined to comment on the issue.

A similar issue attracted media attention when Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton was widely criticized for the use of a private email server while serving as secretary of state in 2009-2013. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) concluded that Clinton had been extremely careless in handling her emails, but recommended that no criminal charges be filed against her.