White House: There Are No “Secret” Email Accounts

Following an Associated Press report that Obama administration appointees have “secret government email accounts,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney argued Tuesday that the accounts aren’t secret and, in fact, prior administrations have followed the practice of appointees having second government accounts.

“This is a practice consistent with prior administrations of both parties,” Carney said.

“Having alternate email addresses for cabinet secretaries and other high-profile officials makes eminent sense,” Carney said. “If they are inundated in one account with either public emails, or spam or the like, then they can continue to use their other account for normal work.”

Carney said he created an alternate government email account after former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs announced Carney’s email address at a press briefing so that the plethora of emails sent to his public account don’t interfere with work notices – a sentiment government officials echoed in the AP report.

He also clarified that this practice is different than the one that the George W. Bush administration was criticized for. Bush officials created private, non-government email accounts where they conducted business over, thus avoiding the archiving that happens with government email accounts.

Read more at CBS NEWS.

{Matzav.com Newscenter}