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By Perry Bacon Jr.

Hillary Clinton's exclusive use of a non-government email account to send messages to her staff during her time as Secretary of State is a break from what other top officials have done, raising concerns from both Democrats and Republicans about the propriety of the practice.

Aides to former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former President George W. Bush said neither official routinely sent e-mails to staffers while they held those posts. Rice "did not use her personal e-mail for official communication as Secretary" and instead exclusively used her State Department account, according to a top aide who did not want to be quoted publicly.

Attorney General Eric Holder regularly uses his government account, according to spokesman Brian Fallon, as does Valerie Jarrett, one of President Barack Obama's top advisers.

As Clinton aides have noted, Colin Powell did regularly use a personal e-mail account while Secretary of State.

A Powell aide confirmed that information, saying, "General Powell used a personal email account during his tenure as Secretary of State. He was not aware of any restrictions nor does he recall being made aware of any over the four years he served at State."

Other former office holders rarely used email accounts - personal or official - at all during their tenure.

"President Bush never used email in the White House. We only ever spoke on the phone or in person, or through memos, of course. I think it was the same at the Treasury Department, too. I never emailed with any of the three secretaries I worked with," said Tony Fratto, a former Deputy White House Press Secretary in the George W. Bush administration. Fratto is supporting Jeb Bush's 2016 presidential run.

"Everyone in government is wary of email," he added. "I'm surprised that Secretary Clinton used a personal account. I'm surprised she used email at all, to be honest. It's so hard to keep it secure."

Steve Clemons, a foreign policy expert at The Atlantic, said he has "never dealt with anyone at the highest levels of government who didn't have an official email address."

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Hillary Clinton's Personal Email Use Differed From Other Top Officials