As I expect that all that read these pages are aware, it’s been confirmed that Ivanka Trump, while serving as an aide to the President, has used a private email account stored on a private email server to conduct government business. (And for anyone who wasn’t already aware: Yes, really.) Her lawyer claims to have now turned over to the proper authorities copies of all of Ms. Trump’s emails involving official business sent through the private account. The lawyer also indicates that no emails have been deleted. Hopefully somebody official is in the process of securing the server.
Given President Trump’s years-long harping about Secretary Clinton’s email use, Ms. Trump’s undisputed behavior is of course saturated with irony, hypocrisy, arrogance and – there is no kinder description for it – downright stupidity. After the Democrats take control of the House of Representatives, the House undoubtedly will – as it should — call upon the appropriate internal federal authorities to review Ms. Trump’s behavior, email account and server to determine whether there have been any instances of unauthorized disclosure of classified government information. That said, I hope for the country’s sake that Democrats are mature enough to maintain perspective once the import of Ms. Trump’s activities has been determined. Absent evidence of malign intent or the compromise of information that can truly be used to harm our national interests, Democrats should address Ms. Trump’s inappropriate email use in the manner that Republicans should have addressed Ms. Clinton’s inappropriate email use: make the points that errant activity has occurred and, if the situation has been addressed, that the matter should be put aside. Everything doesn’t need to be a source of confrontation and hyperventilation; we as a people should reserve our concern for issues that merit it.
McCoy's Noise 