Scaramucci on Ivanka Trump personal email use: ‘It’s hypocritical’

Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci on Tuesday said that it was “hypocritical” for Ivanka Trump to send hundreds of emails related to government business using a personal account. 

“I think it’ll be a great campaign talking point for Democrats to bring up the fact that she did do it,” Scaramucci said on CNN’s “New Day.” “Certainly I think it’s hypocritical.”

“I think Ivanka, if interviewed about it, she’d have to say that it was a mistake. You can’t do that in that position.”

Scaramucci later added that Americans must figure out why people holding government positions are using private email servers to conduct their business. 

“Certainly I think it’s hypocritical,” says @Scaramucci of Ivanka Trump using her personal email for official White House business https://t.co/AeZhLNkXnf pic.twitter.com/zDJZJFmmEC

— New Day (@NewDay) November 20, 2018

Scarmucci’s comments came just a day after The Washington Post reported that Trump reportedly violated federal records rules by sending emails to government officials on her personal email in 2017.

{mosads}The news immediately raised comparisons to 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was secretary of State during the Obama administration. 

Clinton’s email use became a source of high scrutiny during the 2016 presidential race and led to “lock her up” chants at President Trump’s rallies. 

Pressed on how Ivanka Trump could not know that she couldn’t use a private email server for government business, Scaramucci said “she probably” knew it was “a problem, but decided to do it anyway.”

“So why?” he asked. 

Peter Mirijanian, a spokesman for Trump attorney and ethics counsel Abbe Lowell, told the Post that Trump used her private email to discuss government business before being briefed about the rules. 

But Mirijanian said that Trump never discussed classified information in the emails and that her use of a private server differed from Clinton’s.

“Ms. Trump did not create a private server in her house or office, no classified information was ever included, the account was never transferred at Trump Organization, and no emails were ever deleted,” Mirijanian said.