Updated Mar 21, 2019 - Politics & Policy

Kushner reportedly uses WhatsApp for official White House business

Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

As recently as December 2018, Jared Kushner has used his personal email account and encrypted messaging apps, including WhatsApp, to conduct official White House business and communicate with foreign nationals, his lawyer Abe Lowell reportedly told House Democrats.

Details: House Oversight chairman Elijah Cummings demanded that the White House provide more details on Kushner's messaging habits by April 4, claiming that Lowell told him and former chair Trey Gowdy about Kushner's WhatsApp use in December. Lowell on Thursday disputed Cummings' characterization, and said that lawmakers should direct questions about Kushner's WhatsApp use to White House lawyers, according to a letter obtained by Politico.

The big picture: Kushner has come under fire before for skirting national security norms in his role as a senior presidential aide, with intelligence officials warning against granting him a full security clearance due to his business entanglements — before President Trump reportedly overruled them.

Cummings also claimed that Lowell said Ivanka Trump, Kushner's wife, conducts official White House business through her personal email account, a possible violation of the Presidential Records Act.
Lowell also disputed the timeline of that characterization, and said that Ivanka "always forwards official business to her White House account."

Go deeper ... White House leaks to House Dems on Jared and Ivanka's clearances

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Axios

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Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 9:45 p.m. ET: 19,282,972 — Total deaths: 718,851 — Total recoveries — 11,671,491 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 9:45 p.m. ET: 4,937,441 — Total deaths: 161,248 — Total recoveries: 1,623,870 — Total tests: 60,415,558 — Map.
Politics: Trump says he's prepared to sign executive orders on coronavirus aid.
Education: Cuomo says all New York schools can reopen for in-person learning.
Public health: Surgeon general urges flu shots to prevent "double whammy" with coronavirus — Massachusetts pauses reopening after uptick in coronavirus cases.
World: Africa records over 1 million coronavirus cases — Gates Foundation puts $150 million behind coronavirus vaccine production.

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Warren and Clinton to speak on same night of Democratic convention

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Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Hillary Clinton both are slated to speak on the Wednesday of the Democratic convention — Aug. 19 — four sources familiar with the planning told Axios.

Why it matters: That's the same night Joe Biden's running mate (to be revealed next week) will address the nation. Clinton and Warren represent two of the most influential wise-women of Democratic politics with the potential to turn out millions of establishment and progressive voters in November.

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Trump considering order on pre-existing condition protections, which already exist

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Why it matters: The Affordable Care Act already requires insurers to cover pre-existing conditions. The Trump administration is currently arguing in a case before the Supreme Court to strike down that very law — including its pre-existing condition protections.