Posted on 06/01/2016 4:19:12 PM PDT by jazusamo
The man believed to have set up and maintained Hillary Clinton’s private email server will assert his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination and refuse to answer questions as part of an open records lawsuit against the State Department.
Bryan Pagliano will decline to answer questions from Judicial Watch, the conservative legal watchdog group, during a deposition scheduled for Monday, his lawyers wrote in a court filing
on Wednesday afternoon.
The move forecloses the possibility that Pagliano would break his months of silence about the server issue, even as scrutiny has intensified on his role.
Pagliano’s lawyers told Judicial Watch more than a week ago that he would not be answering any questions, they claimed in their filing on Wednesday, and asked that it drop its subpoena. The organization refused.
In the filing, Pagliano’s lawyers tried to have a federal judge block Judicial Watch from recording his deposition, given his planned refusal to answer questions. The lawyers said that a written transcription of the proceedings should be enough to satisfy the public’s interest.
“Given the constitutional implications, the absence of any proper purpose for video recording the deposition, and the considerable risk of abuse, the court should preclude Judicial Watch …. from creating an audiovisual recording of Mr. Pagliano’s deposition,” they wrote.
Videotaped depositions “pose a serious danger to deponents invoking the Fifth Amendment,” the lawyers added, pointing to past court decisions warning that the video makes a good “soundbite.”
According to the filing, Judicial Watch said it would oppose any such motion.
Questions about Pagliano’s role in Clinton’s bespoke email arrangement ramped up after he accepted a deal for immunity from the federal government as part of his cooperation with the FBI’s ongoing investigation into Clinton’s setup.
Yet very little is known about Pagliano and how he maintained the server at Clinton’s New York home.
The IT expert has previously refused to answer questions on Capitol Hill, invoking his Fifth Amendment rights before the House Select Committee on Benghazi and rejecting requests from leaders of the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security committees to answer their questions.
Last month, the State Department said that it had lost the backup archive of Pagliano’s emails from his time at the department. However, it had been able to cobble together some emails through the accounts of other officials.
Last month, a federal judge gave Judicial Watch the go-ahead to ask Pagliano questions under oath as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit connected to Clinton’s emails, alongside key Clinton aides such as Cheryl Mills and Huma Abedin.
Mills answered questions for roughly seven hours last Friday, during which she claimed never to have seen Pagliano interacting with Clinton or her senior aides.
he accepted a deal for immunity from the federal government
HE HAS TO TESTIFY, The Judge should find him in contempt and JAIL HIM, The Lawyers that submitted this motion need to be put in Jail for CONTEMPT Also, and about a $100,000 Fine making sure they are DISBARRED.
Doesn’t pleading the 5th Amendment = Guilty as hell?
He was probably given immunity to prevent his cooperation with the FBI.
He should.
That’s the way I see it too, will be intersting to see what happens.
Not always
But in this case it does
Any lawyer worth their salt would not want their client to testify against him/herself unless their client has immunity or it was part of plea bargain.
In this case, I don’t understand why he doesn’t testify, he can’t have both immunity and the right to refuse to testify
Nobody gets both
This is a CIVIL Case, Remember OJ!
Absolutely, at least in my eyes.
There are things worse than prison.
Gee, they lost his e mails. Never saw that coming. Haven't we seen this dog and pony show before? On the other hand, maybe he really DOESN'T want to take a dirt nap in Fort Marcy Park.
Low man on Clinton’s Totem Pole gets SHIITE on!! THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS, Bryan!!!
You’re right, he and Hillary’s thug lawyers may well pull this off.
Judicial Watch is going to blow this.
Wouldn’t this guy have needed some kind of security clearance to connect Clinton’s home server to the State Department servers?
From a Michael Savage interview with 2 former State Department IT/Security people, the State Department servers have 2 levels — one for general classified emails and one for top classified.
You don’t just dial up the State Department number and connect.
Investigators need special technical people who understand the technology to take the lead.
Why should he have to take the 5th? After all, according to Hillary, everything she did was allowed under the rules, and besides, other Secretaries of State have done the same thing. What’s the big deal?
You could be right, I sure hope not.
The immunity deal is with the FBI, in a criminal investigation.
This is a separate civil case.
That’s the real hang-up as I understand it. This is a private server that he installed for Hillary and has nothing to do with State but she and her aides were communicating classified info on it.
Having said that, I am so sick of these damned vipers who have control of our country getting off with legal maneuvers and such. It is deeply depressing and disheartening. There is no reason I can see to have any expectation of Hillary, Obama, Holder, Lynch, Lerner, et al being held accountable...ever. I hope I am wrong but I don't believe I am. Seems like the fix is in.
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