The National Archives and Records Administration is investigating Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’ use of his private email account for official business.
“We look forward to engaging and cooperating with the National Archives and Records Administration on their investigation, which originated from baseless allegations in news reports,” said a Commerce spokesperson Thursday.
According to Politico, the probe was sparked after a watchdog group obtained emails sent from Ross’ personal account under a FOIA request.
The Justice Department is arguing that the Commerce secretary should not have to sift through Ross’ personal email accounts, insisting that copies of the emails also exist in his government account.
Though Republicans and President Donald Trump successfully inflated Hillary Clinton’s email usage to a scandal of epic proportions in 2016, at least eight former and current Trump administration officials have been quietly reported to do the same thing.
Just last week, Clinton was cleared of any deliberate mishandling of classified information in her email account, a decision made with no fanfare and years too little, too late for those who say that Trump’s email narrative, quickly disseminated by the media, put a massive dent in Clinton’s campaign.