Story highlights At least four White House officials have used personal email for official business

Federal records laws require all White House records be preserved

(CNN) Multiple current and former White House officials have used private email for official administration correspondence, CNN has learned.

At least four top current and former White House officials occasionally used private email in their official capacity as White House officials, sources told CNN. The New York Times reported Monday night that that "at least six" officials used private email to conduct White House business after Politico first reported that Jared Kushner , the President's son-in-law and senior adviser, periodically used a private email account.

The use of private email was a defining issue of the 2016 presidential election, when then-candidate Trump frequently slammed his opponent Hillary Clinton's use of a private server during her time as secretary of state. Several of the emails Clinton sent or received were later determined to be classified by various government agencies , though Clinton had said that none of the emails were marked classified at the time she sent them.

There was no indication that the White House officials who used personal email maintained their accounts on a private server or that they shared classified information.

Former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, former chief strategist Steve Bannon and others occasionally used personal email during their time at the White House, two sources with knowledge of the emails told CNN.

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