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Late Wednesday, the Pentagon announced that for the first few months in his new position as Defense Secretary, Ash Carter used his private email address to conduct official correspondence. The issue was first reported on by the New York Times, which previously raised questions on the matter and alleged that Carter was previously confronted by White House Chief of Staff Dennis McDonough back in May.
As explained by Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook, Carter has expressed that he decision to use his private account to conduct official business was in fact a mistake. While Cook explained that Carter has since stopped using the account for official purposes, he declined to state if Carter had violated official Pentagon policy and procedure by using a private account.
Via
Fox
Carter also acknowledged the move was a mistake in an interview with CBS' “This Morning” on Thursday. He said he occasionally used his iPhone to send messages to immediate staff, but stressed no classified information was involved.
The Times reported that Carter was assigned a government email account when he assumed his office in February, but continued to conduct most of his business on his private account, often sending messages via his iPhone or iPad. According to the paper, a former aide to Carter said that his boss used his personal account so often during that period that staffers feared he would be hacked.
The Times report comes in the midst of an FBI investigation into whether Hillary Clinton mishandled classified information by using a private account for all her emails while secretary of state. According to the Times, Carter continued to use his personal email at least two months after Clinton's practices were revealed in March.
The Times said the emails it received under the Freedom of Information Act were exchanges between Carter and Eric Fanning, who was his chief of staff at the time and is now the acting secretary of the Army.
The emails were on a variety of work-related topics, the Times said, including speeches, meetings and news media appearances. In one such email, Carter discussed how he had mistakenly placed a note card in a "burn bag," the Times reported. Such bags are typically used to destroy classified documents.
Is this another example of government officials attempting to avoid the Freedom of Information Act or something else?
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