The Chair of the Supervisory Committee, Trey Gowdy, opens an investigation into Ivanka Trump's e-mails

The Chair of the Oversight Committee, Trey Gowdy, on Tuesday sent a letter to the White House Chief of Staff, John Kelly, asking for more details about Ivanka Trump's use of a personal email account for his official works.

Here is the letter:

November 20, 2018

The Honorable John F. Kelly
Head of team
The White House
Washington, DC 20500

Dear General Kelly,

On September 25, 2017, the Committee asked the White House for documents and information regarding compliance with federal records retention laws, the use of private messaging accounts and the use of e-mail text and other phone-based applications and encryption software for the conduct of business. . In response to this request, the board office provided information at a bipartite information meeting on October 18, 2017.

During the meeting, the Board's office indicated that there had been ongoing review related to the information requested by the Committee on September 25 and that it covered certain allegations of non-compliance. The board office is committed to communicating the findings of the internal review to the Committee as soon as possible.

Today, President's assistant Ivanka Trump used a personal email account to communicate about official White House affairs. According to a spokesperson, Mrs. Trump "sometimes used her personal account, almost always, for logistical and planning reasons concerning her family". The spokeswoman also said that Ms. Trump had handed over all her e-mails related to the government several months ago so that they could be kept with other records of the White House.

The use by Ms. Trump of a personal email account for official communications may involve the Presidential Records Act and other security and recordkeeping requirements. Given the importance and the need to preserve the public record and to do so in a manner that reflects the relevant legal and regulatory requirements, the Committee must determine whether the White House has taken adequate measures to archive e-mails from Mrs. Trump and prevent their reappearance. To assist the Committee, please provide the following documents and information:

1. Accurately identify the number of emails to and from Ms. Trump's personal email account referring to official business;

2. certify if and how each of these e-mails has been preserved and archived in accordance with applicable records retention laws, including the Presidential Records Act;

3. Indicate whether the emails in question contained sensitive or classified information. and

4. Provide sufficient documentation to describe regular updates and reminders to White House staff of the prohibited use of private messaging.

Please provide a response to the above as soon as possible, but no later than December 5, 2018. In addition, provide an information session to inform the Committee of the status of the internal review of the White House's record-keeping practices, including the tentative findings for Ms. Trump's use of a personal email account. If you have any questions about this letter, please contact Steve Castor of my team at (202) 225-5074.

Regards,

Trey Growdy

cc: The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings
Mr. Lowell, counsel for Mrs. Trump

Elijah Cummings, who is expected to take over the committee, also said he wanted the same information as Gowdy.

"Last year we launched a bipartisan survey on the use of private courier accounts by White House officials for official purposes, but the White House never gave us the information that we had requested, "said Cummings in a statement to Fox News. "We need these documents to ensure that Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and other officials are complying with federal records laws and that there is a comprehensive record of activities of that administration. "

On December 5, the deadline for the White House was to provide the committee with the requested information.