We hear today that Clinton's IT aide will take the Fifth rather than testify before Congress about her email server. But not to worry, the Clinton campaign has explained that this in no way casts a criminal light on Her Inevitableness:
. . . Bryan Pagliano, the former State Department computer staffer and aide in her 2008 White House run who helped to set up Clinton’s private server in 2009, planned to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights instead of appearing at a deposition before the committee next week.
Republicans served him with a subpoena last month.
Clinton’s campaign said Pagliano’s decision was disappointing but understandable. “We had hoped Bryan would also agree to answer any questions from the committee, and had recently encouraged him to grant the committee’s request for an interview,” an aide said. “Bryan is an utter professional and a wonderful young man who does not live in the public eye and understandably may not wish to be drawn into a political spectacle. So his decision is both understandable and yet also disappointing to us, because we believe he has every reason to be transparent about his IT assistance,” the campaign aide said.Elijah Cummings has dutifully taken up this refrain. There's just one problem: you don't get to take the Fifth because you'd prefer not to be drawn into a political spectacle. You have to be facing the prospect of incriminating yourself by answering questions.
Fine. Give him use immunity and ask away.
ReplyDeleteValerie
I think immunity is the way to go, but of course you're always risking incriminating yourself by talking to a Federal investigation. Making false statements is considered perjury even if it's accidental. You don't have to be a criminal walking into the room to be a criminal walking back out again.
ReplyDeleteCertainly they should grant him immunity, but in the meantime the Clinton campaign can hardly claim there's no criminal context to his refusing to testify, as if the situation were squeaky clean but he was just a tad allergic to attention.
ReplyDelete