Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been under fire for using a personal email server for years during her tenure.
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Defense Secretary Ashton Carter used a personal email account to conduct official business during his first few months as Pentagon chief, his press secretary confirmed in a statement Wednesday, according to the Associated Press.
Secretary of State John Kerry prefers his government email account for State Department business but occasionally uses a personal account, State Department spokesman John Kirby said.
This video includes images from Getty Images. In November, the Defense Department provided The Times with 72 work-related emails that Carter sent or received through his personal account.
Jim Garamone writes Carter told uniformed personnel at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey that US troops and worldwide forces should “find capable, motivated partners” that can help launch attacks against the organization in Syria and Iraq.
It was not initially clear, though, how many total government-related emails were sent and received from the personal account.
On Thursday Carter said he used his iPhone for “administrative messages”, but also that he recognizes his wrongdoing and accepts responsibility for his actions.
However, Carter’s account of how often he used the private email account contradicted the words by the Times.
The Senate Armed Serviced Committee is reviewing the emails to make sure sensitive information was not compromised.
Some emails were about speeches and media appearances, the Times reports.
Since 2012, Pentagon policy has been to prohibit all employees from using personal email accounts to conduct government business.
Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said Carter believed it “was a mistake”, adding in a statement that the defense secretary had stopped such use of his personal email.
In one of the emails obtained by The Times, Carter discussed how he had mistakenly placed a notecard in a “burn bag”. “I certainly don’t use it for classified information, and any work-related e-mail is preserved, as is required”, he elaborated. Given the shabby state of State Department cybersecurity, she might not have been any better off using the official system. “I don’t think anyone is going to care much about email practices”, Bash said via email.
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That revelation comes in the midst of an FBI investigation into whether the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, Hillary Clinton, mishandled classified information.
