The Latest: AOL emails among records Gov. Pence kept private

JANESVILLE, Wis. – The Latest on Vice-President Mike Pence (all times local):

6:00 p.m.

Vice-President Mike Pence repeatedly stonewalled media requests to view public records when he was Indiana’s governor.

The latest case involves his use of a private AOL email account to conduct state business, which was first reported Thursday by the Indianapolis Star. The Associated Press has also tried to obtain his AOL emails after filing a public records request in July.

Pence’s account was hacked last year. On the campaign trail Pence repeatedly attacked Democrat Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server while secretary of state.

The Republican was elected governor in 2013. During that time his administration has repeatedly delayed or denied the release of records that could shed light on his tenure.

Pence’s efforts stand in stark contrast to the image he had previously sought to cultivate. He has long presented himself as a champion of a free press and the First Amendment.

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2:15 p.m.

Vice-President Mike Pence says his use of a private email while governor of Indiana was in “full compliance” with state laws.

Pence addressed his use of the private email following a speech in Janesville, Wisconsin. He was there with House Speaker Paul Ryan and briefly spoke to reporters while waiting for lunch with Ryan at O’Riley and Conway’s restaurant.

Pence says there’s “no comparison whatsoever between Hillary Clinton’s practice of having a private servers” and “mishandling classified information, destroying emails when they were requested by the Congress and by officials.”

Pence says he had an outside attorney review all of his private email records to identify any that referenced state business or related activities.

He says, “As Indiana laws required we transferred all of those to the state of Indiana subject to the public access laws.”