Hacker used Mike Pence’s private email to send out scam message begging for money

MIKE PENCE, the US vice president, used a private email account to discuss matters of homeland security when he was governor of Indiana, and was hacked shortly before he became Donald Trump’s running mate.

Mr Pence communicated with advisers in Indiana through a personal AOL account during his four-year term, it has emerged. He discussed issues including security gates at the governor’s mansion and how the state should respond to global terror attacks.

One email on his private account was from his homeland security adviser giving an update from the FBI on a group of arrested terror suspects.

Last June the account was hacked by an internet scammer who sent a message to Mr Pence’s contacts falsely claiming the governor and his wife were stranded in the Philippines, and needed money. Mr Pence became Mr Trump’s running mate the next month.

During the ensuing presidential campaign Mr Pence frequently criticised Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton over her use of a private email server when she was President Barack Obama’s Secretary of State.

A total of 29 pages of correspond- ence from Mr Pence’s private account were released by his successor as governor of Indiana in response to freedom of information requests by the Indianapolis Star newspaper.

Corey Nachreiner, of computer security company WatchGuard Technologies, told the newspaper the accounts of Mr Pence and Mrs Clinton had about the same vulnerability to hacking attacks. He said: “It would be hypocriti- cal to consider this issue any different than a private email server.”

But Marc Lotter, a spokesman for Mr Pence, said it was “absurd” to make comparisons with Mrs Clinton’s email use. Unlike her, Mr Pence did not handle any classified material as Indiana’s governor, he said, and Mr Pence had not set up a private server.

At the end of his term Mr Pence directed an independent lawyer to review all his communications to ensure the state-related emails were transferred and properly archived, Mr Lotter said.

In a statement, the vice president’s office said: “Similar to previous governors, during his time as governor of Indiana, Mike Pence maintained a state email account and a personal email account. As governor Mr Pence fully complied with Indiana law regarding email use and retention.”