Dishonesty - Mark Of The Clintons
2015-09-04 11:08:23 UTC
Facing a congressional subpoena, a former State Department
staffer connected to Hillary Clinton's private email server has
decided to invoke his Fifth Amendment right not to answer
questions from several congressional committees.
Attorneys for Bryan Pagliano, a former State Department staffer
who received a subpoena to testify and provide documents to the
House Select Committee, wrote the committee a letter Sunday
notifying the Benghazi Committee chairman, Trey Gowdy, R-S.C.,
that Pagliano would plead the fifth in light of the FBI
investigation into the security of Clinton's email server.
State Department Publishes More Than 7,000 Pages of Previously
Unseen Clinton Emails
About 150 New Hillary Clinton Emails Now Deemed Classified
Gowdy wants Pagliano to appear before the Benghazi Committee for
a closed interview next Thursday, and to provide documents
related to the servers or systems operated and owned by
Clinton, according to the letter from Paglianos attorneys to
Gowdy.
While we understand that Mr. Paglianos response to this
subpoena may be controversial in the current political
environment, we hope that members of the Select Committee will
respect our clients right to invoke the protections of the
Constitution, Paglianos attorneys wrote. For these reasons,
we respectfully request that the Select Committee excuse Mr.
Pagliano from personally appearing on Sept. 10, 2015.
According to the letter, Pagliano has also received interview
requests from the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security
Committees, which have begun their own spin-off investigations
into Clintons use of private email.
Mr. Paglianos legal counsel told the committee on Tuesday that
he would plead the 5th to any and all questions if he were
compelled to testify, a Senate Judiciary Committee spokesperson
wrote in a statement.
The news of the subpoena and Pagliano's response, first reported
by the Washington Post, came before the Benghazi Committee's
closed-door interview of Cheryl Mills, a Clinton adviser who
served as her chief-of-staff at the State Department.
Heading into the closed hearing this morning, Gowdy said he had
no response to the letter, and did not say whether he would
excuse Pagliano from testifying.
I don't [have any reaction]. You'll have to ask his attorney
that question, he said. I know that in the past why people
have invoked their Fifth Amendment privilege, but you'll have to
ask him what he did.
Pagliano's decision was disappointing to the Clinton campaign,
which had hoped he would testify about his IT work for the
former secretary of state.
Clinton "has made every effort to answer questions and be as
helpful as possible, and has encouraged her aides, current and
former, to do the same, including Bryan Pagliano," a campaign
aide wrote in an email.
But Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., the ranking Democrat on the
committee, defended Pagliano's legal decision in a statement
Wednesday night.
"Although multiple legal experts agree there is no evidence of
criminal activity, it is certainly understandable that this
witness' attorneys advised him to assert his Fifth Amendment
rights, especially given the onslaught of wild and
unsubstantiated accusations by Republican presidential
candidates, Members of Congress, and others based on false leaks
about the investigation," he said.
"Their insatiable desire to derail Secretary Clinton's
presidential campaign at all costs has real consequences for any
serious congressional effort." Pagliano worked as an IT director
for Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign, and served as a
special advisor to the State Department's chief technology
officer between 2009 and 2013, according to a LinkedIn profile.
He now works for Gartner, an IT consulting firm.
His attorney, Mark MacDougall, did not return a request for
comment.
Clinton will testify publicly before the Benghazi Committee Oct.
22.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/clinton-aide-bryan-pagliano-plans-
plead-5th-benghazi/story?id=33505744
staffer connected to Hillary Clinton's private email server has
decided to invoke his Fifth Amendment right not to answer
questions from several congressional committees.
Attorneys for Bryan Pagliano, a former State Department staffer
who received a subpoena to testify and provide documents to the
House Select Committee, wrote the committee a letter Sunday
notifying the Benghazi Committee chairman, Trey Gowdy, R-S.C.,
that Pagliano would plead the fifth in light of the FBI
investigation into the security of Clinton's email server.
State Department Publishes More Than 7,000 Pages of Previously
Unseen Clinton Emails
About 150 New Hillary Clinton Emails Now Deemed Classified
Gowdy wants Pagliano to appear before the Benghazi Committee for
a closed interview next Thursday, and to provide documents
related to the servers or systems operated and owned by
Clinton, according to the letter from Paglianos attorneys to
Gowdy.
While we understand that Mr. Paglianos response to this
subpoena may be controversial in the current political
environment, we hope that members of the Select Committee will
respect our clients right to invoke the protections of the
Constitution, Paglianos attorneys wrote. For these reasons,
we respectfully request that the Select Committee excuse Mr.
Pagliano from personally appearing on Sept. 10, 2015.
According to the letter, Pagliano has also received interview
requests from the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security
Committees, which have begun their own spin-off investigations
into Clintons use of private email.
Mr. Paglianos legal counsel told the committee on Tuesday that
he would plead the 5th to any and all questions if he were
compelled to testify, a Senate Judiciary Committee spokesperson
wrote in a statement.
The news of the subpoena and Pagliano's response, first reported
by the Washington Post, came before the Benghazi Committee's
closed-door interview of Cheryl Mills, a Clinton adviser who
served as her chief-of-staff at the State Department.
Heading into the closed hearing this morning, Gowdy said he had
no response to the letter, and did not say whether he would
excuse Pagliano from testifying.
I don't [have any reaction]. You'll have to ask his attorney
that question, he said. I know that in the past why people
have invoked their Fifth Amendment privilege, but you'll have to
ask him what he did.
Pagliano's decision was disappointing to the Clinton campaign,
which had hoped he would testify about his IT work for the
former secretary of state.
Clinton "has made every effort to answer questions and be as
helpful as possible, and has encouraged her aides, current and
former, to do the same, including Bryan Pagliano," a campaign
aide wrote in an email.
But Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., the ranking Democrat on the
committee, defended Pagliano's legal decision in a statement
Wednesday night.
"Although multiple legal experts agree there is no evidence of
criminal activity, it is certainly understandable that this
witness' attorneys advised him to assert his Fifth Amendment
rights, especially given the onslaught of wild and
unsubstantiated accusations by Republican presidential
candidates, Members of Congress, and others based on false leaks
about the investigation," he said.
"Their insatiable desire to derail Secretary Clinton's
presidential campaign at all costs has real consequences for any
serious congressional effort." Pagliano worked as an IT director
for Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign, and served as a
special advisor to the State Department's chief technology
officer between 2009 and 2013, according to a LinkedIn profile.
He now works for Gartner, an IT consulting firm.
His attorney, Mark MacDougall, did not return a request for
comment.
Clinton will testify publicly before the Benghazi Committee Oct.
22.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/clinton-aide-bryan-pagliano-plans-
plead-5th-benghazi/story?id=33505744