USA Today (Op-Ed): Ivanka needs to play by the rules

The irony is richer than Ivanka Trump herself. The president’s daughter routinely conducted government business from her personal email in violation of federal rules, according to The Washington Post. All the while chants of “lock her up” still reverberate at President Donald Trump’s rallies, even after he made Hillary Clinton’s email use a central issue of his 2016 campaign. Just last week, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he would further investigate the FBI’s handling of Clinton’s emails if he chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee next year.

Trump — whose official title is adviser to the president — joins a list of several White House officials who used personal email to discuss government business, including her husband, Jared Kushner, and the president’s former chief of staff, Reince Priebus.

There are several lessons from this latest scandal already. More will follow.

Transparency must be paired with oversight to hold power accountable. Although Trump shut down her fashion brand this summer, there are still questions about conflicts of interest. Earlier this month, China granted the presidential adviser approval for more than a dozen new trademarks, from clothing items to voting machines. Did she use her email to mix government with making a profit?

Freedom of information laws must be strengthened. Open records requests and subsequent litigation by a nonprofit watchdog group, American Oversight, triggered the news about Ivanka Trump. The public has a right to know how government makes decisions and whether it is upholding the public interest. Pending legislation would require all federal agencies to put completed Freedom of Information Act requests online. Agency offices that process FOIA requests should be better resourced (including in technology and staffing) to fulfill requests in a timely manner.

Cybersecurity must be a paramount concern. According to The Post, Ivanka Trump’s emails were “prescreened by the Trump Organization for security problems” and then stored by Microsoft. This exposes vulnerabilities that should be investigated, especially because the president has refused to divest from the Trump Organization.

Americans can agree that public officials should follow the same high ethical standards rather than play by their own set of rules. Transparency and oversight are important to ensure that government is responsive to the people who elect it. They lead to accountability, better policies and a stronger democracy.

Stephen Spaulding, an attorney, is chief of strategy at Common Cause. You can follow him on Twitter: @SteveESpaulding.