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Clinton tech aide plans to take the Fifth at deposition - POLITICO

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/bryan-pagliano-fifth-amendment-223796

Clinton tech aide plans to take the Fifth at deposition
[image: 160602_Bryan_pagliano_AP_1160.jpg]

"Mr. Pagliano will invoke his right under the Fifth Amendment and decline
to testify at the deposition noticed," Pagliano's lawyers said. | AP Photo
Clinton tech aide plans to take the Fifth at deposition

A former information technology adviser to Hillary Clinton plans to
exercise his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination at a
deposition next week and wants to prevent any video recording being made of
the session.

Lawyers for former State Department tech specialist Bryan Pagliano said in a
court filing
<http://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000155-0ded-d4d4-a3dd-1def43ba0001>
Wednesday that there's no valid reason to make an audio or video recording
of the session since Pagliano doesn't plan to answer any of the questions
he's asked by the conservative group Judicial Watch, which is pursuing a
Freedom of Information Act lawsuit related to Clinton's private email
server. The group is scheduled to take Pagliano's deposition on Monday.

Story Continued Below

"Mr. Pagliano will invoke his right under the Fifth Amendment and decline
to testify at the deposition," Pagliano's lawyers Mark MacDougall and
Connor Mullin wrote. "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, Inc. ... from
creating an audiovisual recording of Mr. Pagliano’s deposition."

Acting on a request from another former aide to Clinton, Cheryl Mills, U.S.
District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan already ruled
<http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2016/05/hillary-clinton-aides-deposition-video-secret-223630>
that videos of the sessions should be put under seal. However, Pagliano's
lawyers say there's still a chance the video could emerge later either with
or without permission from the court.

"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. Given that there is no proper purpose for
videotaping the deposition in the first place, Judicial Watch’s preference
should yield to the significant constitutional interests at stake,"
Pagliano's attorneys added.

A spokesman for Clinton's presidential campaign did not immediately respond
to a request for comment on the development.

Judicial Watch indicated Wednesday that it will resist the proposal to ban
video recording.

"Judge Sullivan already put in place a mechanism that addresses these
concerns," Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in an interview. "There
are always credibility issues that are raised by any assertion of the Fifth
Amendment. This video, we believe will be helpful to Judge Sullivan in
assessing the witness' demeanor when asserting the Fifth Amendment and in
response to other questions."

Pagliano previously took the Fifth
<http://www.politico.com/story/2015/09/former-hillary-clinton-staffer-bryan-pagliano-pleads-fifth-213501>
when he was called to appear at a closed session of the House Benghazi
Committee. However, he reportedly spoke with FBI investigators looking into
the Clinton email set-up after receiving some type of immunity from the
government.

Clinton testified before the Benghazi panel in public session and said she
encouraged everyone with information to cooperate with the committee. Her
campaign expressed disappointment with Pagliano's decision to take the
Fifth last year in that probe. Clinton's camp said it was pleased
<http://www.politico.com/story/2016/03/hillary-clinton-emails-fbi-220163>
when Pagliano eventually talked to the FBI.

However, Clinton has taken a selective approach to cooperating with
inquiries into the email issue. She and her top aides declined to speak
with investigators from the State Department's Office of Inspector General
preparing a report on the impact of private email accounts on recordkeeping
when she was secretary of state and during the tenure of previous
secretaries.
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Eric D. Schwerin
eschwerin@rosemontseneca.com

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