Hillary Clinton Email Scandal: Staffer Who Set Up Bill Clinton And Hillary Clinton’s Email Server Will Refuse To Testify
Next week will see Judicial Watch take on Hillary Clinton over her ongoing email scandal in the case of Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of State, following an appearance before the House Benghazi Committee and investigation by the FBI. There’s one name that’s been at the center of each of these investigations, and that’s Bryan Pagliano, a former State Department technology specialist, who was responsible for setting up and maintaining Hillary and Bill Clinton’s private email server.
According to Politico, during an upcoming deposition, Bryan Pagliano will plead his right to the Fifth Amendment and refuse to testify. Lawyers representing the former State Department staffer have said that there’s no valid reason to make an audio or video recording of the session, simply because Pagliano won’t be answering any of the questions.
U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan has in the past ruled that video recordings from such depositions should remain sealed, so if a recording is made of Pagliano’s deposition, there’s a good chance that it wouldn’t be publicly available. However, the tech specialist’s lawyers are still fighting against the necessity of recording the deposition, saying “Judicial Watch may move to unseal the materials at any time. Furthermore, in the event of a leak or data breach at the court reporting company, Mr. Pagliano would be hard-pressed to prevent further dissemination and republication of the video.”
BREAKING: Clinton Tech Aide Bryan Pagliano Plans to Take the Fifth at Deposition https://t.co/NG3A70XVrX pic.twitter.com/9zfnYgcHXd
— Pundit Planet (@punditfap) June 1, 2016
According to Forbes, Bryan Pagliano has in the past appeared before the House Benghazi Committee as a figure central to the Clinton email scandal. However, the same hearing saw Pagliano pleading the Fifth amendment, also to prevent the risk of self-incriminating.
As part of the FBI’s investigation into how Hillary Clinton used her private email server for State Department related communication, Bryan Pagliano was granted immunity in exchange for his testimony. However, this particular case is unrelated to the FBI, having been brought forward by Judicial Watch. Cheryl Mills was the first prominent name from the Clinton team brought before the committee. However, she was advised not to answer any questions, including those in relation to Pagliano.
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It’s very unlikely that any new information surrounding the Hillary Clinton email scandal will actually come out of the depositions, considering Pagliano and other top aides to the former Secretary of State all plan to plead the Fifth Amendment. However, more attention being awarded to the case of her email misuse will almost certainly negatively impact Hillary Clinton’s presidential run, and rival Donald Trump likely won’t shy away from bringing it up.
Aside from Judicial Watch, the State Department has faced lawsuits from a number of other individuals and groups, including most prominently Jason Leopold and the Associated Press, with each of these bringing a motion against the State Department under Hillary Clinton as a freedom of information case.
Throughout her presidential campaign, the issue of email usage has plagued Hillary Clinton’s campaign, with consistent questioning as to whether Clinton was guilty of any wrongdoing.
[Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images]
