House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte is dismissing criticism over Ivanka Trump’s use of a private email account to conduct official business, saying it’s “awfully tough” for government officials to comply with expected email standards.

“When things like this come up, it’s important people understand, they need to make sure they’re doing what they can,” Goodlatte said during an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett.

“It’s awfully tough, as everyone knows, when you’re sending emails about a lot of different things to make sure that you’re doing it according to the rules in the White House or wherever you’re doing it,” he continued.

The Republican, who will leave office in early January, also said he sees the president’s daughter’s use of a personal account as “very different” from Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.

“I do think, of course, it’s very different to send private emails about matters that are not classified information,” Goodlatte said. “There’s a criminal penalty imposed for doing that — when you have classified information that is transmitted improperly, as was the allegation, and I think the facts now support, with regard to Hillary Clinton.”

Ivanka Trump used her personal account through much of 2017 to exchange messages with White House aides and Cabinet officials. Her attorney said the use of the email account was used “almost always for logistics and scheduling concerning her family.”

Donald Trump, who has been fiercely critical of Clinton’s use of private email server, has defended his daughter amid the scrutiny.

“They weren’t classified like Hillary Clinton. They weren’t deleted like Hillary Clinton,” he said. “She wasn’t doing that to hide her emails.”

WATCH:

Goodlatte defends Ivanka's private email use: "It's awfully tough" to make sure you're following the White House rules when sending emails pic.twitter.com/JgaPTW0oqc

— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) November 27, 2018