You’ve got mail: Kushner under scrutiny after evidence of private emails is found

It seems as though Trump and his fellow colleagues just can’t get enough negative press these days. Once again, another scandal has reached the headlines regarding Trump, however, this particular incident revolves around Trump’s senior advisor and son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Not only is Kushner under investigation, but so are his wife and the president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump.

Several news outlets, such as CNN, have established that Kushner and possibly six other senior officials are being questioned regarding their use of personal emails to conduct government business. Sound familiar?

Furthermore, Kushner has been reported to be less than forthcoming with the Senate intel committee about the context and the extent of his private emails. Nonetheless, the White House has deemed it appropriate to conduct a performance review of all staff members. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, press secretary, responded to reports on Monday, stating staff “are further instructed that if they receive work- related communication on personal accounts, they should be forwarded to official email accounts.”

According to Politico.com, Kushner and Ivanka Trump’s private email domain is under specific scrutiny due to the fact that they have been engaging in government communication via emails, even after the election, and it has continued throughout 2017.

Yet, Politico writes: “The probe could take several weeks or even months to complete. The White House counsel’s office is reviewing the accounts to determine whether the messages are germane to any investigations such as the ongoing Russia probes by Congress and special counsel Robert Mueller.”

This insinuates that America’s people will be left without a clear answer for some time on whether or not Trump’s officials have put innocent citizens’ lives at risk due to the possibility that government business has been leaked to outside sources via personal email servers.

Although the ideology of the scandal itself is not groundbreaking news due to Hillary Clinton’s involvement and her history of utilizing private emails to discuss government concerns, the hypocrisy at play is mind- boggling.

Hillary Clinton has spoken regarding how the investigation of her emails cost her the election in her eyes. “Clinton said she ‘would’ve won’ if Comey had not intervened. It stopped my momentum. It drove voters from me. And so that, in terms of my personal defeat, was the most important factor.”

Furthermore, Kushner’s actions have contributed to a supreme lack of trust in our government officers, which can be seen from local riots and protests. Regardless of the minute details of the outcome of the report, the media coverage and lack of structured guidance from officials during this time, says it all.

We are once again questioning, just as we did with Clinton during her campaign, the ultimate motive, consequences and end goals of our political figures.

My overarching concern for the entirety of the issue is more focused on the leaders who engaged in foul play and less of the corrupt venture itself.

You see, it’s easier to label the act as a moment of weakness or fault, than to confront and evaluate the person’s values and true self. But, if that particular individual’s actions has the potential to influence and negatively affect millions of American lives, we must take action to negate future harm.

JoAllie Paluchak can be reached at voices.spectator@gmail.com.