BREAKING: Mike Pence Used Personal Email For State Business As Indiana Governor, Got Hacked

The Indianapolis Star is reporting that Vice President Mike Pence used a personal AOL email account to conduct state business while he served as governor of Indiana. That account was allegedly hacked last summer.

Pence reportedly used his personal email account to discuss sensitive matters and homeland security issues with top advisers, according to more than 30 pages of emails obtained by the Star in an open records request. An unspecified number of emails from Pence's AOL account couldn't be released to the Star because the information they contain is too sensitive to be released to the public.

Cybersecurity experts expressed concerns that sensitive information was put at risk when Pence's email was hacked. 

Pence's private email use also posed issues of transparency, as private accounts aren't always searched during open records requests.

On Wednesday, Pence's office released a written statement in response to the Star's report: 

"Similar to previous governors, during his time as Governor of Indiana, Mike Pence maintained a state email account and a personal email account," the statement reads. "As Governor, Mr. Pence fully complied with Indiana law regarding email use and retention. Government emails involving his state and personal accounts are being archived by the state consistent with Indiana law, and are being managed according to Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act."

Pence's office said outside counsel reviewed his private emails and transferred any that involved public business to the state before he left his position as Indiana's governor.

The Star notes that Indiana law doesn't prevent public officials from using their personal email accounts, though any official business conducted on such accounts must be maintained as public records.

During the 2016 election, Pence was an outspoken critic of former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's use of a private server and email account while she was secretary of state.

Pence spokesman Marc Lotter rejected comparisons between Pence and Clinton's email use, saying Pence didn't handle classified information as governor. 

Clinton also had a private email server installed in her home, Lotter noted.

But Corey Nachreiner, chief technology officer at the computer security company WatchGuard Technologies, said Pence's account was likely just as vulnerable as Clinton's.

"In this case, you know the email address has been hacked," Nachreiner told the Star. "It would be hypocritical to consider this issue any different than a private email server."

You can read the Star's full report here.