Ivanka Trump Used Private Emails For Government Business

Lily Kuhn|November 25, 2018

FILE - In this July 8, 2017, file photo, Ivanka Trump listens during the Women's Entrepreneurship Finance event at the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany. It is no secret that the bulk of Ivanka Trump’s merchandise comes from China. But just which Chinese companies manufacture and export her handbags, shoes and clothes is more secret than ever, an Associated Press investigation has found. Since she took on her White House role at the end of March, 90 percent of the shipments of her merchandise do not include public disclosure of the companies that sent the goods to the U.S., data shows. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

AP

FILE – In this July 8, 2017, file photo, Ivanka Trump listens during the Women’s Entrepreneurship Finance event at the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany. It is no secret that the bulk of Ivanka Trump’s merchandise comes from China. But just which Chinese companies manufacture and export her handbags, shoes and clothes is more secret than ever, an Associated Press investigation has found. Since she took on her White House role at the end of March, 90 percent of the shipments of her merchandise do not include public disclosure of the companies that sent the goods to the U.S., data shows. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

On Nov. 19, the Washington Post released a story that soon rippled through the nation. Ivanka Trump, the daughter of President Donald Trump, sent hundreds of emails to White House staff and Cabinet officials using a personal email account. The scandal was particularly upsetting to many due to the Trump Administration’s particular history with email scandals.

During Trump’s presidential campaign, a similar scandal involving fellow candidate Hillary Clinton emerged, regarding her time as Secretary of State. Much of Trump’s campaign afterward focused on this, with his rallies often unified by the cry “Lock her up!” Trump espoused the rhetoric that Clinton had broken the law and deserved jail time. With the discovery of Ivanka’s similar blunder, many opponents have pointed out the hypocrisy, which is especially biting when faced with Ivanka’s defense.

According to the Washington Post, “Some aides were startled by the volume of Ivanka Trump’s personal emails — and taken aback by her response when questioned about the practice. She said she was not familiar with some details of the rules, according to people with knowledge of her reaction.”

Many disbelieve Ivanka Trump and her excuse, citing the dramatic use of Clinton’s emails by her family. According to CNN, Trump even tweeted “The invention of email has proven to be a very bad thing for Crooked Hillary in that it has proven her to be both incompetent and a liar!”

Though Ivanka’s spokesperson has said that no confidential information was sent through these private emails and that it only occurred before she was thoroughly debriefed on White House security, skeptics say that it has to be impossible for Ivanka to be unaware of the severity of using private emails.