Not Just Ivanka: Trump Admin Repeatedly Violated Government Records Laws

It’s not just Ivanka Trump. White House officials, Mike Pence, and even Trump himself have repeatedly violated government records laws and put our national security at risk by using personal email accounts and other unsecure practices for official business.

 

The White House engaged in insecure email practices, and staffers frequently used personal email accounts to conduct official business.

 

Axios: “The security advocacy group Global Cyber Alliance tested the 26 email domains managed by the Executive Office of the President (EOP) and found that only one fully implements a security protocol that verifies the emails as genuinely from the White House. Of the 26 domains, 18 are not in compliance with a Department of Homeland Security directive to implement that protocol.”

 

Politico: “The use of personal email accounts in the Trump White House has been somewhat common, even though the president has been a harsh critic of Clinton’s private email habits, frequently leading ‘lock her up’ chants as he traveled across the country on the campaign trail.”

 

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump had already come under scrutiny for corresponding with administration officials from personal email accounts.

 

Newsweek: “Ivanka Trump, the first daughter and adviser to the president, used a personal email address to communicate with a government official after her father took office, according to documents that the nonprofit American Oversight obtained through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and shared exclusively with Newsweek.”

 

Politico: “Presidential son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner has corresponded with other administration officials about White House matters through a private email account set up during the transition last December, part of a larger pattern of Trump administration aides using personal email accounts for government business.”

 

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump moved their private email accounts that had been used for government business to a private Trump Organization server.

USA Today: “Exclusive: Jared Kushner’s Personal Email Re-Routed To Trump Organization Computers Amid Public Scrutiny”

 

Politico: “White House officials have begun examining emails associated with a third and previously unreported email account on Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump’s private domain, according to three people familiar with the matter. Hundreds of emails have been sent since January from White House addresses to accounts on the Kushner family domain, these people said.”

 

As governor, Mike Pence used personal email for state business — and he was hacked.

Indianapolis Star: “Vice President Mike Pence routinely used a private email account to conduct public business as governor of Indiana, at times discussing sensitive matters and homeland security issues. Emails released to IndyStar in response to a public records request show Pence communicated via his personal AOL account with top advisers on topics ranging from security gates at the governor’s residence to the state’s response to terror attacks across the globe. In one email, Pence’s top state homeland security adviser relayed an update from the FBI regarding the arrests of several men on federal terror-related charges.”

 

Indianapolis Star: “In fact, Pence’s personal account was hacked last summer.”

Trump circumvented basic cybersecurity measures out of personal convenience.

New York Times: “Mr. Trump’s aides have repeatedly warned him that his cellphone calls are not secure, and they have told him that Russian spies are routinely eavesdropping on the calls, as well. But aides say the voluble president, who has been pressured into using his secure White House landline more often these days, has still refused to give up his iPhones.”

 

CNN: “Another security expert said the President’s increased cell phone use makes his calls more vulnerable to eavesdropping from foreign governments.”