Mike Pence defends his use of personal email account

Washington: Defending his use of a personal email account, US Vice President Mike Pence has said "there`s no comparison" between his situation and Hillary Clinton`s use of a private email server that rocked the 2016 presidential campaign, a media report said.

Pence used his personal email account to conduct state business while he was Indiana`s Governor, CNN reported on Friday.

"There`s no comparison whatsoever," Pence said when asked about whether his situation gave him any sympathy for the Democratic presidential nominee.

He was at an event with House Speaker Paul Ryan in Janesville, Wisconsin, when quizzed.

In the personal email Pence discussed issues like the resettling of Syrian refugees and other matters on an AOL account that was hacked in a phishing scam, according to details released on Thursday.

In one September 2014 exchange, Pence asked his then-Homeland Security Adviser John Hill for an "update of the investigation in Columbus (Indiana) following the vandalism ... to area churches ... Including the church I grew up in." 

In another email from November 2015, Pence asked his communications staff to promote an op-ed from then Senator Dan Coats about Indiana`s fight to bar Syrian refugees from settling in the state.

Hill also alerted Pence to an FBI terror assessment in another exchange included in 30 pages of emails provided to CNN by Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb`s office in response to a public records request. 

The emails and the successful hack of Pence`s email account were first reported on Thursday night by The Indianapolis Star.

It`s unclear from the release how often Pence used his AOL account for state business versus his state-provided email address.

For months on the campaign trail, Pence accused Clinton of being dishonest and threatening US national security because she used an unsecured private email server while she was Secretary of State.