Pence demands apology from AP for releasing wife's email address

Vice President Mike Pence took to Twitter on Saturday afternoon to demand an apology from The Associated Press after it published his wife's private email address earlier this week.

The Pences' emails were released after  IndyStar discovered that the vice president had used a personal AOL account to conduct state business during his time as governor. IndyStar obtained nearly 30 emails through a public records request that Pence had sent from his personal account.

Pence tweeted that the AP's decision to publish the second lady's private email address violated "her privacy and our security."

He followed up with a second tweet demanding an apology from the AP after he said it refused to take down the story or redact Karen Pence's email address. But Lauren Easton, AP's director of media relations, said the AP removed the email address from subsequent stories after learning the second lady still used the account.

"The AP stands by its story, which addresses important transparency issues," Easton said.

Mike Pence's tweet included a photo with a letter his lawyer Mark Paoletta sent to Gary Pruitt, AP's president and CEO, calling the AP reckless and irresponsible for publishing Karen Pence's email.

"The publication of Mrs. Pence's active private email address to millions of her readers has subjected her to vitriolic and malicious emails and raised serious security concerns," Paoletta wrote.

The letter went on to say that when Pence's press secretary contacted reporter Brian Slodysko, he seemed surprise to find the account was still active. Paoletta said the AP should have done a "proper inquiry into the status of Mrs. Pence's personal email account before publishing it."

The emails released to IndyStar show that Mike Pence communicated with top advisers from his personal AOL account on topics such as security gates at the governor's residence and the state's response to terror attacks across the globe.

The emails raised concerns for cybersecurity experts about whether any sensitive information sent was protected from hackers, especially since Pence's personal account had been hacked last summer. Personal accounts are typically less secure than government email accounts.

THE STORY: Pence used personal email for state business — and was hacked

BEHIND THE STORY: IndyStar's long-running effort to obtain the Pence emails

SELECTED PENCE EMAILS: Here are some of Vice President Mike Pence's AOL emails

PENCE'S OTHER EMAIL ISSUE: Mike Pence asks Indiana Supreme Court to stay out of his redacted emails

BACK HOME: With Pence gone, fellow Republicans undo his work in Indiana

IndyStar reporter Tony Cook contributed to this story. 

Follow IndyStar reporter Kara Berg on Twitter: @karaberg95.