Washington (CNN) Vice President-elect Mike Pence is embroiled in a legal challenge stemming from his decision to withhold information from a public records request in a case local Democrats say raises the specter of the Indiana governor shielding all of his emails from public view.

It's a bit ironic as Pence, along with running mate President-elect Donald Trump blasted their way into the White House in part by hammering away at Democrat Hillary Clinton's own email scandal.

Pence's lawyers have argued, in part, that a state court decision protecting state lawmakers from releasing their own records should also apply to his office.

But Bill Groth, a Democratic lawyer fighting the Pence administration in state court, cautioned that if the court accepts their argument, it could shield all his communications from the public.

"If the court buys their separation of powers argument, the executive branch will be exempt from (Indiana's public records law)," Groth said. "Why are they willing to take that risk if they have statutory arguments and they aren't really seeking to exempt the executive?"

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