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Tony Cook, The Indianapolis Star Published 3:57 p.m. ET March 3, 2017 | Updated 7:11 p.m. ET March 3, 2017

Vice President Mike Pence reportedly used a private email account to conduct public business, including homeland security matters, while he was governor of Indiana. Records of the emails were obtained by IndyStar through a public records request. Dwight Adams/IndyStar

Vice President-elect Mike Pence speaks Nov. 10, 2016, during a welcome-home rally at Indianapolis International Airport.(Photo: Jenna Watson, The Indianapolis Star)

INDIANAPOLIS The Indianapolis Star has been engaged in a long-running effort to obtain emails from Vice President Mike Pences personal AOL account.

The controversy over his use of a private email account exploded Thursday, but the story has its roots in another batch of emails.

In 2014, The Star was investigating a possible conflict of interest involving Seema Verma, a powerful state health-care consultant who was simultaneously working for one of the states largest Medicaid contractors. Verma is now President Trumps pick to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

In conjunction with that investigation, reporters requested emails involving Verma and one of Pences cabinet members with whom she butted heads.

About nine months later well after the paper published its report on Verma the Pence administration provided nearly 1,500 pages of emails.

Related:Pence used personal email for state business and was hacked Related:Here are some of Mike Pence's AOL emails

Tucked among them was an email to Pences personal AOL account from a low-level Pence staffer who was forwarding a news clip from the local business journal.At that time, it was not known whether he used the personal email address routinely for state business or to discuss sensitive issues.

The use of private emails to conduct public business later exploded as a major presidential campaign issue. Thats when The Star filed a public records request seeking emails from Pences personal account.

What ensued was a monthslong effort to access those records.

Related:Mike Pence: 'No comparison' between his, Clinton's email practices Related:Photo captures Hillary Clinton reading about Pence's emails

In September, reporters requested all emails between Pences AOL account and any state government account, but his administration declined to fulfill that request, arguing it was too broad. The Indianapolis Star narrowed its request, but the administration again argued it was too broad.

In a third public records query, the request was narrowed to meet the administrations parameters that it name a specific sender and recipient, include a date range of no more than six months and specify search terms.

Pences office accepted that request. On Oct. 27, Shelley Triol, Pences communications director, said, We will send responsive records on a rolling basis as they are located and reviewed for confidential material.

Related:Mike Pence asks Indiana high courtto stay out of his redacted emails Related:With Pence gone, fellow Republicans undo his work in Indiana

But Pences office never provided any records.

In the weeks before he left the governors office, the paper filed a complaint with the public access counselor arguing that the administration had failed to provide the records in a timely manner and expressing concerns about how the records request would be fulfilled since the incoming administration would have no access to Pences personal email account.

The access counselor decided in the states favor, arguing that Pences transition to the White House presented extenuating circumstances.

Related:Pence vows Senate vote on high court nominee 'one way or the other' Related:Elusive funding for Pences bicentennial projects dogs his home state

Despite the setback, Star reporters continued to pursue the records under the new administration of Gov. Eric Holcomb.

Late last week, Holcomb's office released 29 pages of emailsbut withheld an unknown number of others, arguing they are exempt from Indiana's records laws.

The Indianapolis Star continues to pursue additional recordsas well as more information about those that the Holcomb administration is withholding.

Follow Tony Cook on Twitter:@indystartony

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Indiana took months to reveal Mike Pence emails - USA TODAY

Then-Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana speaks at a press conference in 2015. Under Indiana law, public officials are allowed to use personal email accounts; the practice can help them avoid using official accounts to conduct political business.

Vice President Pence used a private AOL account to conduct official business in his former position as the governor of Indiana, according to public records. And at one point, the account was hacked and used to send fraudulent emails seeking money from his contacts.

Pence used the account to communicate with advisers about issues including homeland security in Indiana and the security of the gates at the governor's mansion, The Indianapolis Star reports.

The newspaper says it obtained 29 pages of email records from current Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb's office in response to a public records request.

Under Indiana law, public officials are allowed to use personal email accounts and the practice can help them avoid using official accounts to conduct political business. As the Star notes, the law is "generally interpreted" to require public officials to save any emails related to official business in order to follow open records laws. A Pence spokesman says the vice president complied with that requirement.

Pence's AOL account was compromised by a standard phishing attack in late spring of 2016, a Trump administration official tells NPR's Tamara Keith. The breach became public knowledge when everyone in his contacts list received emails claiming that the governor and his wife were stranded in the Philippines and needed money.

Private email accounts are usually less secure than government accounts and are not preserved for use in public records in the same way. When Pence's account was compromised, he shut it down and switched to a more secure system and then to another when he took on a national role, administration officials tell NPR.

Responding to reports about the personal email account, the vice president's press secretary, Marc Lotter, issued a statement saying that just as other governors had done, Pence "maintained a state email account and a personal email account."

Addressing the question of where those emails are now, Lotter says that as he prepared to work in Washington, Pence "directed outside counsel to review all of his communications to ensure that state-related emails are being transferred and properly archived by the state."

Throughout the 2016 presidential campaign, both Pence and then-candidate Donald Trump repeatedly criticized Hillary Clinton for using a private server and private email for State Department business. Appearing on Meet the Press in September, Pence said Clinton was keeping her communications "out of the public reach, out of public accountability."

During the vice presidential debate in October, Pence alluded to the security concerns of using unofficial email systems, claiming that Clinton's email server "was subject to being hacked by foreign governments."

Pence's own email had been hacked earlier that year.

Pence spokesman Lotter told the Star that comparing the former governor's email use to Clinton's is "absurd," because Pence did not handle classified information on the federal level as governor. He also said that Pence was using a publicly available email service and did not have a home private server as Clinton did.

Some of Pence's emails were deemed too sensitive to be released as part of the Star's public records request. Security experts told the paper that hackers were likely able to access Pence's inbox and sent emails, which could have included those same sensitive documents.

Lotter told the AP that the law firm Barnes & Thornburg is currently reviewing Pence's communications as governor and that contact between Pence and his aides who were using government email accounts would be automatically archived.

NPR's Tamara Keith contributed to this report.

Read more:
Mike Pence Used AOL Email For State Business As Indiana's Governor - WFYI

"There's no comparison whatsoever," Pence said following an event he did with House Speaker Paul Ryan in Janesville, Wisconsin, when asked about whether his situation gave him any sympathy for the Democratic presidential nominee.

Pence used a personal email when he discussed issues like the resettling of Syrian refugees and other matters on an AOL account that was hacked in a phishing scam, according to emails released Thursday.

In one September 2014 exchange, Pence asked his then-homeland security adviser John Hill for an "update of the investigation in Columbus (Indiana) following the vandalism ... to area churches ... Including the church I grew up in." In another email from November 2015, Pence asked his communications staff to promote an op-ed from then-Sen. Dan Coats about Indiana's fight to bar Syrian refugees from settling in the state.

It's unclear from the release how often Pence used his AOL account for state business versus his state-provided email address.

For months on the campaign trail, Pence accused Clinton of being dishonest and threatening US national security because she used an unsecured private email server while she was secretary of state. A few days before the general election, on November 2, Pence said at a rally in Colorado that the "FBI has reopened the investigation in to HRC's private email server. It's a serious matter. Now we commend the FBI in this case for following the facts because in America, no one is above the law."

Pence's email was compromised last spring, according to a Pence official, and emails were sent from his account saying that he was robbed on an overseas trip and he needed money. After the scam was discovered, he set up an entirely new private email account, the official told CNN.

Holcomb declined to release further emails citing an exemption in Indiana's public records law that allows officials to withhold documents discussing the creation of public policy, according to The Star.

A Pence official would not comment or characterize what is in the AOL emails that have not been released. Pence spokesman Marc Lotter told CNN in a statement: "Similar to previous governors, during his time as governor of Indiana, Mike Pence maintained a state email account and a personal email."

Lotter did not explain if previous Indiana governors also used their personal email accounts to conduct state business.

Clinton's use of private email was the subject of a federal investigation that determined she had exchanged classified information on a server based out of her New York home. The FBI determined Clinton's actions were not worth prosecuting, but FBI Director James Comey last summer berated her actions.

It was not immediately clear if Pence handled classified information on his her personal email account, although, as a governor, he would be less likely to do so compared to Clinton, who was secretary of state at the time.

"He did everything to the letter of the law, he turned all his emails over, unlike Hillary Clinton, who lost at least 30,000, who knows how many more, on her private server," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said. Sanders added: "He's a governor, which means he wasn't handling classified information like she was."

CNN submitted a public records request to the Indiana governor's office in September for emails between Pence, using his personal AOL email, and his top staff. Pence's office never responded to follow-up requests from CNN, but a spokeswoman for Holcomb said she was reviewing the request.

Pence used his personal AOL account to discuss state work periodically from the start of his administration in 2013.

Pence recently hired an outside lawyer to review his emails and submit them to the state, which could then be released or withheld at Holcomb's discretion.

The Indiana Democratic Party released a statement on Thursday calling for "full disclosure" on Pence's use of private emails. "It seems Governor Holcomb has chosen to withhold a portion of the public work product Pence sent on private servers, and Indiana Democrats want to know why."

This story has been updated to reflect breaking news.

CNN's Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.

See more here:
Mike Pence on personal email use: 'No comparison' to ...

"There's no comparison whatsoever," Pence said following an event he did with House Speaker Paul Ryan in Janesville, Wisconsin, when asked about whether his situation gave him any sympathy for the Democratic presidential nominee.

Pence used a personal email when he discussed issues like the resettling of Syrian refugees and other matters on an AOL account that was hacked in a phishing scam, according to emails released Thursday.

In one September 2014 exchange, Pence asked his then-homeland security adviser John Hill for an "update of the investigation in Columbus (Indiana) following the vandalism ... to area churches ... Including the church I grew up in." In another email from November 2015, Pence asked his communications staff to promote an op-ed from then-Sen. Dan Coats about Indiana's fight to bar Syrian refugees from settling in the state.

It's unclear from the release how often Pence used his AOL account for state business versus his state-provided email address.

For months on the campaign trail, Pence accused Clinton of being dishonest and threatening US national security because she used an unsecured private email server while she was secretary of state. A few days before the general election, on November 2, Pence said at a rally in Colorado that the "FBI has reopened the investigation in to HRC's private email server. It's a serious matter. Now we commend the FBI in this case for following the facts because in America, no one is above the law."

Pence's email was compromised last spring, according to a Pence official, and emails were sent from his account saying that he was robbed on an overseas trip and he needed money. After the scam was discovered, he set up an entirely new private email account, the official told CNN.

Holcomb declined to release further emails citing an exemption in Indiana's public records law that allows officials to withhold documents discussing the creation of public policy, according to The Star.

A Pence official would not comment or characterize what is in the AOL emails that have not been released. Pence spokesman Marc Lotter told CNN in a statement: "Similar to previous governors, during his time as governor of Indiana, Mike Pence maintained a state email account and a personal email."

Lotter did not explain if previous Indiana governors also used their personal email accounts to conduct state business.

Clinton's use of private email was the subject of a federal investigation that determined she had exchanged classified information on a server based out of her New York home. The FBI determined Clinton's actions were not worth prosecuting, but FBI Director James Comey last summer berated her actions.

It was not immediately clear if Pence handled classified information on his her personal email account, although, as a governor, he would be less likely to do so compared to Clinton, who was secretary of state at the time.

"He did everything to the letter of the law, he turned all his emails over, unlike Hillary Clinton, who lost at least 30,000, who knows how many more, on her private server," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said. Sanders added: "He's a governor, which means he wasn't handling classified information like she was."

CNN submitted a public records request to the Indiana governor's office in September for emails between Pence, using his personal AOL email, and his top staff. Pence's office never responded to follow-up requests from CNN, but a spokeswoman for Holcomb said she was reviewing the request.

Pence used his personal AOL account to discuss state work periodically from the start of his administration in 2013.

Pence recently hired an outside lawyer to review his emails and submit them to the state, which could then be released or withheld at Holcomb's discretion.

The Indiana Democratic Party released a statement on Thursday calling for "full disclosure" on Pence's use of private emails. "It seems Governor Holcomb has chosen to withhold a portion of the public work product Pence sent on private servers, and Indiana Democrats want to know why."

This story has been updated to reflect breaking news.

CNN's Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.

See original here:
Mike Pence on personal email use: 'No comparison' to Clinton - CNN

March 3, 2017, 11:17 a.m.

He was a chief critic of Hillary Clintons use of a private email server. Now it appears Vice President Mike Pence did the same.

While serving as governor of Indiana, Pence used a private email account to conduct public business, according to a report from the Indianapolis Star.

Based on emails obtained by the newspaper, Pence, who served as governor from 2013 until January, communicated via his personal AOL accountwith top advisors concerning, among other things, security gates at the governors residence and his states response to terror attacks around the globe. Moreover, Pences email was hacked last summer, the newspaper reported.

A governor's use of a private email account is not new.

In 2011, it was revealed that Sarah Palin, while serving as Alaskas governor, maintained a private email account in addition to her official government account.

Unlike Clinton, who used a private email server while secretary of State, Pence and governors do not deal with federally classified information.

Marc Lotter, a spokesman for Pence, told the Star that any comparisons between Pence and Clinton were "absurd.

Throughout the campaign, Pence, along with then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, assailed Clinton relentlessly for her use of the private server.

Both called on then-Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch to file charges against Clinton, but after an investigation the FBI recommended that no charges be filed.

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As governor, Mike Pence used a personal email to conduct public business -- and got hacked - Los Angeles Times