“You’ve got FAIL!”
Trump e-mail scandal six times bigger than previously reported!
Two days ago, Politico reported that Jared Kushner, one of Trump’s top advisors, used private email to conduct White House business.
Yesterday, Newsweek reported that Ivanka Trump also used a private email account during the course of her government-related work.
I know, I know, “But… but… but… Hillary’s emails!”
Late yesterday, The New York Times published a story that has us wondering, “Where are these juicy leaks coming from?<”
At least six of President Trump’s closest advisers occasionally used private email addresses to discuss White House matters, current and former officials said on Monday.
The disclosures came a day after news surfaced that Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and adviser, used a private email account to send or receive about 100 work-related emails during the administration’s first seven months. But Mr. Kushner was not alone. Stephen K. Bannon, the former chief White House strategist, and Reince Priebus, the former chief of staff, also occasionally used private email addresses. Other advisers, including Gary D. Cohn and Stephen Miller, sent or received at least a few emails on personal accounts, officials said.
Ivanka Trump, the president’s elder daughter, who is married to Mr. Kushner, used a private account when she acted as an unpaid adviser in the first months of the administration, Newsweek reported Monday. Administration officials acknowledged that she also occasionally did so when she formally became a White House adviser. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter with reporters.
Officials are supposed to use government emails for their official duties so their conversations are available to the public and those conducting oversight. But it is not illegal for White House officials to use private email accounts as long as they forward work-related messages to their work accounts so they can be preserved.
“Not illegal” is not the same thing as “ethical.” If, say, a House Committee were to subpoena any of the six people named in this abusive violation of the public trust, how many more private e-mails – and w-mailers – would emerge? We might just find out:
A committee of Congress has called on the White House to provide details of any aides who have used private emails for official business.
…
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which has a responsibility for monitoring the effectiveness and accountability of federal government, has sent a letter to the White House demanding more information.
The letter was signed jointly by Republican Trey Gowdy, who chairs the committee, and Democrat Elijah Cummings, the second most senior member.
Addressed to White House Counsel Donald McGahn, it says: “Have you or any non-career official at the White House ever used a personal email account to conduct official business?
“If so, please identify the individual and the account used, and provide evidence of measures to ensure compliance with federal law.”
The letter sets a deadline of 9 October for the disclosure of more information.
That’s right. Trey Gowdy, who made such a big stink about “Hillary’s e-mails!”, signed the letter. If he hadn’t made such a stink about then-Secretary Clinton, he might have had an opportunity to play politics and ignore this White House e-mail scandal, but he is backed into a corner by his own political zealotry.
Heckuva job, Trey!
But wait… there’s MORE!
Top Washington lawyer Abbe Lowell engaged in an email exchange with a prankster posing as client Jared Kushner on Monday, at one point telling the prankster that he needed “to see all emails” sent and received from a private email account the president’s son-in-law had set up in December.
The exchange, which the prankster provided to Business Insider, came as Kushner was dealing with his own minor email scandal and offers a window into how his team is responding in its initial stages.
Politico reported Sunday that Kushner had used a private email address to communicate with top White House officials, including former chief of staff Reince Priebus and former chief strategist Steve Bannon. The New York Times reported Monday night that as many as six top White House officials, including Priebus and Bannon, used private email accounts to discuss White House matters.
This would all be funny if it were not for the complete incompetence of Donald Trump and his idiot West Wing minions.
