Vice President Mike Pence used a private e-mail account that was later compromised while serving as governor of Indiana, his office confirmed on Thursday.
The existence of the account was first reported by the Indianapolis Star, which obtained copies of Pence's e-mails through a Freedom of Information request.
The paper reported that Pence used the account to conduct government business, including corresponding about potentially sensitive issues. In one exchange, Pence communicated with his chief of staff and his top homeland security adviser who conveyed an update about terror-related FBI arrests in the state. However, the information in those e-mails were reported widely in the media at the time.
In a statement, Pence press secretary Marc Lotter said that his use of a personal and government e-mail account was consistent with previous governors.
"As then-Governor Pence concluded his time in office, he directed outside counsel to review all of his communications to ensure that state-related e-mails are being transferred and properly archived by the state, in accordance with the law, which outside counsel has done and is continuing to do," Lotter said. "Government e-mails involving his state and personal accounts are being archived by the state and are being managed according to Indiana's Access to Public Records Act."
Pence had used the AOL account since the mid-1990s and continued to use it throughout his time as governor until early 2016, when the account was compromised by a hack. Hackers leveraged his contacts to launch a phishing attack against his contact lists, sending an e-mail claiming that Pence and his wife were stranded in the Philippines and needed financial help.
After the account was hacked, it was shut down and Pence began using a second AOL account, an aide said.
The use of a private e-mail account is not prohibited by law in Indiana. However, public officials cannot use state accounts for political business.
