Defense Secretary Ash Carter called his use of a personal email account for work a “mistake” and said he had been “warned by lots of people along the way” to be careful about his communications.
Advertisement
The Pentagon on Friday released 34 pages of Carter emails that he sent or received using his personal account, a practice that he acknowledged on Thursday had been a mistake, given the well-known and growing threat of cyber intrusions.
16, said Carter used a personal email account to do some of his government business during his first months at the Pentagon.
On Thursday, Carter told CBS News correspondent Charlie D’Agata in an interview at an American base in northern Iraq, that he never sent anything classified via his personal account, but that he did “occasionally” send “administrative” e-mails to his “immediate staff”.
However, a former aide to Carter told the Times that the Pentagon chief used his personal account extensively, triggering fears among his staff that he would be hacked or was not following Defense Department email policies.
Rep. Mac Thornberry, McCain’s counterpart in the House, said Carter should ask the Defense Department’s inspector general to verify that no classified material was transmitted over unsecured channels by Carter or Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work.
In Washington, U.S. Sen.
The Secretary of Defense reportedly continued to use the private email even after news about the use by Hillary Clinton of personal emails during her time as the Secretary of State had triggered attacks by lawmakers from the Republican Party. He is expected to be named as President Barack Obama’s choice as new Secretary of Defense, according to several US administration officials. He also has made cybersecurity one of his top policy priorities at the Pentagon, which is among the most frequently and intensively targeted government agencies by worldwide hackers.
No evidence of any wrongdoing has surfaced in Clinton’s case, and her use of the private server did not break rules of the State Department. “As a result, he stopped such use of his personal email and further limited his use of email altogether”.
The Pentagon has issued an official statement that says Carter did nothing wrong.
McCain said his committee requested copies of Carter’s emails “and will be conducting a review to ensure that sensitive information was not compromised”.
The email practices of senior administration officials have come under increased scrutiny since the disclosures about Clinton’s private account. His team provides him with secure classified information, at times as hard copies.
Advertisement
The spokesman for Carter played down the secretary’s use of personal email, saying that he used it primarily to correspond with friends and family.
