This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Vice-President Mike Pence has criticized the Associated Press for listing his wife’s email address in a story about his frequent resistance to public records requests while Indiana’s governor.

Photo of Hillary Clinton reading news Pence used AOL email goes viral Read more

In a tweet on Saturday, Pence said that by publishing the personal AOL address of his wife, Karen, the AP “violated her privacy and our security”. The vice-president posted a letter his counsel sent to Gary Pruitt, the AP’s president and chief executive, and said the AP “owes my wife an apology”.

Governor Pence’s use of an AOL email account for official business was first reported by the Indianapolis Star on Thursday. It said Pence used the account, which was hacked last summer, to discuss sensitive matters and homeland security issues.

The news met with national interest, given the focus by Republicans and the media during the presidential election last year on Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.

The Democratic nominee reportedly said she blamed actions by the FBI director, James Comey, around an investigation into her email for her defeat by Donald Trump. This weekend, a picture of Clinton looking at a USA Today headline about Pence’s use of private email went viral on social media.

Vice President Pence (@VP) When we requested they take it down, they refused. The @AP owes my wife an apology. pic.twitter.com/LdMmnewnWF

On Friday, the AP reported that the Pences had used their AOL accounts to conduct official business since at least 2013.

Pence said he had complied with state laws in his use of the email account, and had an outside attorney review his private email records and archive those related to state business.

Lauren Easton, the AP’s director of media relations, said in a statement: “AP removed [Karen Pence’s] email address from subsequent stories after learning Mrs Pence still used the account. The AP stands by its story, which addresses important transparency issues.”