Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is demanding answers following Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s admission of using a private email account, which came to light last year.
“It is troubling to learn of your use of personal email for official matters, especially since you continued using that arrangement even after the risks of private use were made clear when news of [Secretary of State Hillary] Clinton’s use broke in March 2015,” Grassley wrote in a letter to Carter Monday.”
Grassley pointed out that Carter acknowledged that using a personal account was a “mistake” after a Dec. 16 New York Times article pointed out the usage. Carter said no classified information was passed.
“However,” Grassley wrote, “according to news reports, the high volume of official business conducted through your personal email account caused your staff concern about potential hacks.”
Carter used his personal email for official business for at least two months after he took over as leader of the Pentagon last year, even after Clinton drew criticism for her use of personal email.
He told reporters in December that he had used his personal email installed on his iPhone for some “administrative work.”
“That I shouldn’t have been doing,” Carter told reporters. “Particularly someone in my position, and with the sensitivities about this issue, should have known better.”
Grassley requested Carter answer questions as to why he used private email, whether a classification review has been conducted and has the Defense Department or any other agency determined whether Carter’s account was compromised.
