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Witnesses refuse to testify in hearing on Clinton's email

Posted September 13, 2016 7:00 am

By RICHARD LARDNER

Witnesses, from left, Paul Combetta, Platte River Networks, Bill Thornton, Platte River Networks, and Justin Cooper are sworn in on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, prior to testifying before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on 'Examining Preservation of State Department Records.' Bryan Pagliano, former senior advisrr, Information Resource Management, State Department of State did not appear, empty seat at left. (AP Photo/Molly Riley) The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - Three witnesses ordered to testify Tuesday before a House committee investigating Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server asserted their constitutional rights against self-incrimination and did not appear or refused to answer questions.

Bryan Pagliano, the former State Department computer specialist tasked with setting up Clinton's server, did not attend the Republican-led hearing. His attorney said in a letter to the chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee that Pagliano will continue to assert his constitutional right not to testify.

Pagliano spoke previously to the FBI under immunity, telling the bureau there were no successful security breaches of the server. But he said he was aware of many failed login attempts that he described as "brute force attacks."

Pagliano also refused to answer questions last year before a House panel investigating the deadly 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya.

The email issue has shadowed Clinton's candidacy, and Republicans have been steadfast in focusing on her use of a private server for government business, with several high-profile hearings leading up to the election. Democrats insist the sole purpose of the hearings is to undermine Clinton's bid for the presidency.

"I believe this committee is abusing taxpayer dollars and the authority of Congress in an astonishing onslaught of political attacks to damage Secretary Clinton's campaign for president," said Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the committee's top Democrat.

Two officials from Denver-based Platte River Networks appeared before the committee but invoked their constitutional right not to testify. Bill Thornton and Paul Combetta were excused from the session. In June 2013, after Clinton had left office, the server was moved from her Chappaqua, New York, home to a data center in northern New Jersey, where it was maintained by the Platte River Networks.

One witness, Justin Cooper, a former White House aide to President Bill Clinton, is answering the committee's questions. Chaffetz said Cooper purchased the first server used by Clinton and registered the clintonemail.com domain name. Cooper also helped set up Clinton's mobile communications.

Cooper told the committee that he did not have a security clearance during the period he was performing this work.

Congressional Republicans last month issued subpoenas to Platte River Networks and two other companies - Datto Inc. and SECNAP Network Security Corp. - after they declined to voluntarily answer questions to determine whether Clinton's private server met government standards for record-keeping and security.

The committee's chairman, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said there will be consequences for Pagliano's refusal to appear and for "thumbing his nose at Congress."

He didn't specify what the penalties would be but said, "We're not letting go of this."

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Follow Richard Lardner on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rplardner

The name plate for witness Bryan Pagliano, former senior adviser, Information Resource Management, State Department, who did not appear, sits on the witness table on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, during a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on 'Examining Preservation of State Department Records.' (AP Photo/Molly Riley) The Associated Press

Paul Combetta, Platte River Networks, asserts his 5th amendment right while testifying on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on 'Examining Preservation of State Department Records.' (AP Photo/Molly Riley) The Associated Press

FILE - In this Thursday, Sept. 2016 file photo, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton pauses while speaking at a rally at Johnson C. Smith University, in Charlotte, N.C. House Republicans on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, continue their attacks on former Secretary of State Clinton's emails by calling the tech expert who set up her private server and representatives from the company that maintained the system to testify at a congressional hearing. Bryan Pagliano, a former information resource management adviser at the State Department, is scheduled to appear Tuesday before the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) The Associated Press

FILE - In this Sept. 10, 2015 file photo, Bryan Pagliano, center, a former State Department employee who helped set up and maintain a private email server used by Hillary Rodham Clinton, departs Capitol Hill in Washington. House Republicans on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, continue their attacks on former Secretary of State Clinton's emails by calling the tech expert who set up her private server and representatives from the company that maintained the system to testify at a congressional hearing. Pagliano, a former information resource management adviser at the State Department, is scheduled to appear Tuesday before the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, Lee, File) The Associated Press

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