The National Archives and Records Administration has launched an investigation into Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’ use of private email for official business, according to a letter made public this week.
The inquiry was triggered by an unflattering profile of Ross last month in The Washington Post, which cited government-related emails the watchdog group Democracy Forward received from Ross’ private account. The group obtained the messages through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.
“The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has become aware of a potential unauthorized disposition of U.S. Department of Commerce records,” Archives official Laurence Brewer wrote in an Oct. 9 letter to Jennifer Jessup, Commerce’s chief information officer.
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In a court filing Wednesday night, Justice Department attorneys said the Commerce Department should not be required to conduct a direct search of Ross’ personal email accounts even though searches of Commerce Department accounts found 280 email chains over a 16-month period that contained references to one of more of the four private accounts he used.
Many of the messages pertain to Ross’ travel arrangements through a jet-sharing service, NetJets, and were also sent to government accounts to update Ross’ official calendars, the court submissions say. Other emails involve outsiders, including at least one reporter, who contacted Ross through his private accounts.
“On multiple occasions, the Secretary … directed the initial email sender to use his official government email address on future communications regarding agency business,” Commerce attorney Michael Cannon wrote.
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Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is under investigation for using private email accounts to conduct official business https://t.co/7TCFIU2S1U
— POLITICO (@politico) October 24, 2019
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