White House investigating Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner's use of personal emails

Lawyers reportedly hunting for messages that could be relevant to Russia probes

White House Senior Advisor Jared Kushner and his wife Ivanka Trump, also a government employee (Reuters)

The White House is investigating officials’ use of private email accounts to conduct government business, it has been reported.

Of particular interest is a private email domain potentially used by Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner, it is said.

Mr Kushner did not disclose his use of a personal email account when he met with members of the Senate Intelligence Committee investigating Russian election interference, who learned about it from news stories.

Citing four unnamed officials, Politico said the effort began this week after it reported Mr Kushner and other senior White House officials had used private email accounts to exchange messages for government business.

A congressional committee asked the White House on Monday for information about the initial story.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders, asked if Mr Trump was concerned about the reported use of private emails, told reporters on Thursday, “The White House has been clear and instructs all staff to fully comply with the Presidential Records Act. All staff has been briefed on the need to preserve those records, and will continue to do so.”

During Mr Trump’s 2016 election campaign, the Republican real estate developer attacked Democratic rival Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server for official correspondence when she was Secretary of State under President Barack Obama.

Some of Ms Clinton’s messages were later determined to have contained classified information.

The White House probe could take several weeks or even months to complete as officials are searching for all emails sent or received about government business, Politico reported. Its lawyers are said to be trying to find out whether any messages are relevant to ongoing Russia probes by Congress and special counsel Robert Mueller.

Mr Mueller, the former FBI director, is investigating alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US election and possible collusion with Trump associates. Russia has denied any such efforts, and Mr Trump has dismissed any talk of collusion.

Politico earlier reported that other senior Trump aides had also used private email accounts, including former chief of staff Reince Priebus, former chief strategist Steve Bannon and economic adviser Gary Cohn.

The New York Times reported on Monday that private accounts were also used by the president’s daughter Ivanka Trump after she became a White House adviser and by Stephen Miller, a senior Trump adviser.

Additional reporting by agencies