Ex-GOP rep rips White House email practices
Former Utah U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, a longtime leading GOP critic of Hillary Clinton’s email practices, yesterday blasted aides to President Trump as “tone deaf” after revelations they used private email accounts to discuss White House business.
“How tone deaf are they?!” Chaffetz said during an appearance on Boston Herald Radio’s “Morning Meeting” program. “Having watched this play out over a couple of years, we certainly beat the drum that ‘you can’t do this.’ ”
At least six Trump advisors, including the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, his daughter Ivanka, former chief of staff Reince Preibus and former chief strategist Steve Bannon, reportedly used private emails to conduct official government business.
Government officials are supposed to use government email accounts so conversations are subject to public records law and are protected from hacking.
Trump campaign rallies often included chants of “Lock her up!” when the GOP candidate talked about Clinton’s use of a private email server, which he dubbed a “criminal scheme.”
Chaffetz, who abruptly resigned from Congress this summer before swiftly signing on as a Fox News contributor, aggressively investigated Clinton when he was chairman of the House Oversight Committee, and said the message for other government officials not to engage in similar practices was made clear.
“Even Sean Spicer, when he was the White House spokesperson, put out a communication to senior staff saying ‘you can’t do this,’ ” Chaffetz said. “No matter what level of government, you just can’t do this. There’s going to be an occasional misstep, but if you’re doing this as a regular practice, it’s against the law.”
Current House Oversight chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) and ranking minority member Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) have begun to probe the new reports involving the Trump administration. Chaffetz also criticized his fellow Republicans over their failed fight to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, saying it could cost the party at the polls next year. “There are two big promises that Republicans made, tax reform and healthcare — repeal and replace Obamacare,” he said. “You have members that have to go back and get their nominations and that’s going to be really tough, you’re going to see Republicans running against Republicans saying, ‘if you want different results, you have to elect different people.’ ”