Jared Kushner's Emails: House Oversight Member Probes Reported Use Of Personal Address

WASHINGTON, DC — Rep. Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat, is requesting information about Jared Kushner's email practices after Politico reported that the president's son-in-law has used a private account to conduct government business. This practice could violate federal record-keeping and transparency laws, which became a central issue in the 2016 presidential campaign when Hillary Clinton's use of a personal email account as secretary of State came under scrutiny.

Kushner serves as a top aide to President Trump.

"Before requesting copies or calling for the public release of all official emails you sent or received on your personal email account, I first request that you preserve all official records and copies of records in your custody or control and that you provide the information requested below," Cummings, who is the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, wrote in the letter. "Your actions in response to the preservation request and the information you provide in response to this letter will help determine the next steps in this investigation."

Watch: What You Need To Know About Kushner's Emails

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Cummings notes that previously he and then-Chairman of the committee Jason Chaffetz asked the White House in March whether any staffers were using personal accounts to conduct official business. White House Director of Legislative Affairs Marc Short said that no officials have multiple accounts.

“This statement appears to be inaccurate, although it is possible that Mr. Short was referring to senior officials with multiple official governmental email accounts and that he did not know about your personal email account at the time he wrote this letter to the Committee," Cummings wrote.

Politico reported Sunday that Kushner has used a personal email account on occasion to correspond about government work since joining the White House. His lawyer said that all those correspondences have been forward to his official email account, which would presumably preserve them for record-keeping purposes. However, the selected preservation of emails on an account that contained government-related emails was a central issue of the campaign. Then-candidate Trump often blasted Clinton for deciding which of her emails were and weren't work-related when it was revealed that she used a private email account during her service in the State Department.

On Monday, Newsweek reported that Ivanka Trump, Kushner's wife and the president's daughter, also conducted government business over a private email, though it occurred before she was officially a White House employee. Other reports suggest that multiple White House employees have used private emails or other forms of communication that could circumvent record-keeping practices.

"The public has a right to a full, comprehensive and thorough accounting of Secretary Clinton’s tenure," wrote Rep. Trey Gowdy, as chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, in 2015, as Cummings points out. "Moreover, there are other committees in both the House and Senate that have equities with respect to matters arising during Secretary Clinton’s service to our country. Finally, the media, as a conduit between government and the public, has a right to inspect documents in the public domain. All of these entities have the right to be assured the record is complete as well as to avoid burdensome and costly work and litigation to reconstruct public records.”

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