You remember Bryan Pagliano, pictured above, the guy who ran Hillary’s IT during her 2008 presidential campaign. After Obama tossed Hillary the job of secretary of state, Hillary had Pagliano hired by the State Department. She also had him continue to administer her private server, supposedly paying him on the side for the help.
Taking the Fifth
In addition to everything else swirling in the cesspool of that email server, there are also questions about whether or not whether the State Department spent taxpayer money to manage Hillary’s email server. See, Pagliano was working for both State as a government employee and Hillary as a private employee at the same time. One wonders if he always kept the two tasks fully separate, and of course what a government employee was doing working privately for the Clintons at the same time.
When asked back in September to provide testimony to Congress, Pagliano refused, asserting his Fifth Amendment rights.
Now things have changed.
Getting Immunity
The Justice Department has granted immunity to the former State Department staffer, who worked on Hillary Clinton’s private email server, as part of a criminal investigation into the possible mishandling of classified information, according to a senior law enforcement official.
The official said the FBI had secured the cooperation of Bryan Pagliano, who worked on Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign before setting up the server in her New York home in 2009.
What Pagliano Likely Knows
Bryan Pagliano can shed light on several issues:
— Pagliano’s dual role as government employee and Clinton employee opens a whole new arena for investigation against Clinton, similar to the one already ongoing with aide Huma Abedin, who at one point worked simultaneously for the State Department, the Clinton Foundation, Hillary herself and a private company closely tied to the Clintons.
— While at State, what was Pagliano’s day-to-day job? What did he really do, not just his job description, but is actual work accomplishments? Is there a paper trail showing he did any actual work at all, or was the State “job” just a make-work position to get him on the payroll as a gift in return for his service to Clinton?
— He listed on LinkedIn his political-appointee position as “Serve as strategic advisor and special projects manager to the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) / Deputy Chief Information Officer (DCIO) overseeing the operations of the Information Resource Management (IRM) bureau.” Employed at such a high level inside State’s IT structure assures that State’s most senior information officers knew about Clinton’s email setup, and apparently did not or were not able to stop it. Unless Brian never told his supervisor about his other job.
— What was going on inside the State Department vis-a-vis the email server. Who knew about it? When did they know? Was it ever vetted/approved, and if so, by whom? Were objections raised by security personnel and how were those objections dealt with? Who is on the complete list of people who had email addresses on the server? What discussions took place inside State regarding the presence of classified information on the server? Were objections ever raised from outside State, say from the White House or the intelligence community?
— Pagliano can also speak to what security measures if any were in place on Clinton’s server, and when were they instituted. He had visibility into server logs, showing any attacks or penetrations into the server.
— Pagliano, as a State Department employee, had access to the State Department computer systems. He currently works as a computer contractor for State, and still has access to State Department computer systems. Has he ever been asked by Clinton to use his positions to gain information she would ordinarily not have access to, or to which she did not want her name attached?
— Pagliano may have knowledge of where any backups of the server are, shedding light on what emails were deleted by Clinton before her “full disclosure” of what was in fact a highly curated batch of documents.
There is a lot to learn from Bryan Pagliano. His testimony could be like when the Feds turn a Mafia accountant, a low-level guy with access to the family jewels.
BONUS: The State Department’s Chief Information Officer, who should have stopped the Clinton email server? Well, well, she retired from State a few months before Hillary left, into a nice job at the IMF. It pays to be a winner!
Copyright © 2020. All rights reserved. The views expressed here are solely those of the author(s) in their private capacity.
bloodypitchfork said...
1quote”The Justice Department has granted immunity to the former State Department staffer, who worked on Hillary Clinton’s private email server, as part of a criminal investigation into the possible mishandling of classified information, according to a senior law enforcement official.”unquote
ummm… immunity from what? I mean, he already pled he 5th, which kinda immunized him from self incrimination. So, this tells me the FBI already had some kind of info to coerce him into testifying regardless. I know this..he didn’t just arbitrarily give up his 5th Amendment rights. He knows something that could have grave consequences to his own liberty.
However, I’ve got $20 that says Hillary is frantically going through her black book to call in favors about now.
No matter, looks like things are going to get..velly intwesting. 🙂
03/4/16 9:00 AM | Comment Link
bloodypitchfork said...
2quote”BONUS: The State Department’s Chief Information Officer, who should have stopped the Clinton email server? Well, well, she retired from State a few months before Hillary left, into a nice job at the IMF. It pays to be a winner!”unquote
The fact she retired doesn’t immunize her. I mean, sheezzus, as “Chief Information Officer,”, she had to have known Clinton didn’t use a server at State, right? Maybe I’m missing something here, but it would appear to me her position would indicate she had a view of State’s entire communications systems, no? If not…WTF?
03/4/16 9:11 AM | Comment Link
wemeantwell said...
3My point exactly. But I note not everyone who retires from State immediately lands a cushy, well-paid job, like at the IMF. Why, it is almost as if she is being paid off in advance for zipping her lips! But that couldn’t happen, right?
HINT: It happened.
03/4/16 10:53 AM | Comment Link
bloodypitchfork said...
4ya know, this whole story is like a Ringling Bros. 3 ring circus. We’ve seen the clowns, but haven’t seen the center ring act yet. Time for peanuts and popcorn. I like circus’s.
03/4/16 9:15 AM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
5Hillary’s got bigger balls than Donald Trump.
03/4/16 11:19 AM | Comment Link
John Poole said...
6Only his tax preparer knows for sure! Did Hillary pay him in cash? If so did he report such cash? If she wrote a check and used his service for IRS business deductions what definition did she use if she declared him a business deduction? Who does the Clinton’s tax return? Oh, well, I don’t expect too much record keeping from someone who has probably forgotten how to actually steer an automobile down a public street without SS
fender men running alongside on foot keeping her from hitting the curb.
03/4/16 11:58 AM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
7Getting Hillary for email violations is like getting Al Capone for tax evasion.
03/4/16 2:51 PM | Comment Link
John Poole said...
8Bauer- today the FBI and gangsters (DC) are in bed together. Erneest employees who believe even their bosses should not be above the law are muzzled.
03/4/16 5:41 PM | Comment Link
bloodypitchfork said...
9John Poole said…
“Bauer- today the FBI and gangsters (DC) are in bed together.”
Yeah, and have been for a long, long time…
“The U.S. Justice Department ordered the FBI to begin tracking crimes by its informants more than a decade ago, after the agency admitted that its agents had allowed Boston mobster James “Whitey” Bulger to operate a brutal crime ring in exchange for information about the Mafia.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/08/04/fbi-informant-crimes-report/2613305/
“The FBI gave its informants permission to break the law at least 5,658 times in a single year,…(snip) ”
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Meanwhile, I’m not holding my breath about Clinton.
03/5/16 5:06 AM | Comment Link
bloodypitchfork said...
10Speaking of the FBI’s bullshit….
http://reason.com/blog/2016/03/04/the-somali-sex-slave-ring-that-wasnt
Why there isn’t a statute to prosecute these lying sacks of shit FBI and US Attorneys I don’t know. But there should be.
03/5/16 9:23 AM | Comment Link
Ross said...
11Ugh, everything about this story just drives me nuts. How did anyone involved in this think this was a good idea? The Feds have a huge list of requirements they that are supposed to follow for IT security (Google NIST SP 800-53 if you’re interested). Any chance that this server met even a fraction of these?
03/5/16 12:53 PM | Comment Link
John Poole said...
12Pitch, the only person who might go to jail over Clinton’s email shenanigans is PVB for being too insistent she pay for her crimes. I think you and I will have visiting rights for being loyal readers.
03/5/16 1:01 PM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
13“I think you and I will have visiting rights for being loyal readers.”
Peter already willed me the rights to his blog.
03/5/16 4:01 PM | Comment Link
wemeantwell said...
14While I feel I must honor my commitment to Rich for the blog per se, the Comments section goes to Pitch.
03/6/16 10:07 AM | Comment Link
John Poole said...
15It sure looks like Satan parked his trident right behind Hillary as a sign she will be doing Lucifer’s work once in the White House. She’s got that red blouse on and all. If I were a Christian I’d be all flustered and ready for the rapture.
03/5/16 4:47 PM | Comment Link
sglover said...
16If the DNC succeeds in its quest to install HRC as the candidate, its reward will very likely be a fabulous October Surprise, right before the election. How many scandals are pounding on the door of the Clinton closet, begging to get loose? Between her devious self-dealing and general unattractiveness, Clinton is uniquely capable of losing to Trump.
But then, if it didn’t lose with what should otherwise be a winning hand, it wouldn’t be the Democratic Party, would it?
03/6/16 12:35 AM | Comment Link
bloodypitchfork said...
17Rich Bauer said..
“Peter already willed me the rights to his blog.”
Hey, you already have a blog. sheesh. I mean..how greedy can you get?
Insert rolling eye smiley here.
🙂
sglover said..
“But then, if it didn’t lose with what should otherwise be a winning hand, it wouldn’t be the Democratic Party, would it?”
Say again? Shouldn’t that be..”But then, if it DID lose….”
Maybe I’m missing something here.
Wouldn’t be the first time.
The ole cognitive analysis function ain’t what it used to be…know what I mean? Ha!
God, getting old sucks.
03/6/16 8:00 AM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
18Hillarious email security violation defense: Everybody does it.
Like cheating on your spouse?
But how many keep a mistress “server” in their basement?
03/6/16 9:54 AM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
19“… sheesh. I mean..how greedy can you get?”
Pitch,
Are you talking about Hillary or Trump?
http://11oclocknews.typepad.com/the_11_oclock_news/2016/03/hillarious-email-defense-everybody-does-it.html
03/6/16 10:30 AM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
20Someone should send this to Ben Carson:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/lizard-asia-florida-amber-99-million-years_us_56dc37c7e4b03a405678f110
03/6/16 10:45 AM | Comment Link
Bruce said...
21Jest waitin’ for the ol’ Ollie North pitch from Hellary’s Patron Poppy Bush playbook for Pagliano! Then, it’s Contra-Iran 2 on the PNAC-Attackin’ Road to Tehran!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejEyRkQjx5w
03/6/16 11:37 AM | Comment Link
bloodypitchfork said...
22Bruce said…
Jest waitin’ for the ol’ Ollie North pitch from Hellary’s Patron Poppy Bush playbook for Pagliano! Then, it’s Contra-Iran 2 on the PNAC-Attackin’ Road to Tehran!!
Fuck. I’ve seen some bizarre analogies in my time, but that video link get’s my nomination for this years award for the Most Bizarre Analogy in history!
03/6/16 7:23 PM | Comment Link
Bruce said...
23I think DingleBarry has Bizarr0 ANALogy PUR$ED! :
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/ca/c4/6b/cac46b02b1448596faa56c304c728927.jpg
03/6/16 8:58 PM | Comment Link
bloodypitchfork said...
24Bruce said…
“I think DingleBarry has Bizarr0 ANALogy PUR$ED! :”
Oh. My. God. …ummm..son, I think it’s your bedtime. Nuff interwebs for the day.
Speaking of talking shit… Trump’s gonna get himself killed if he keeps this shit up.
http://sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com/2016/03/another-trump-loving-pus-filled.html
03/7/16 4:57 AM | Comment Link
Arrow said...
25DOJ granted Pagliono immunity from Federal prosecution for criminal behavior… not civil. That is beyond their authority (as is the criminal immunity). What they “said” is, we (DOJ, Federal) choose not to pursue claims against him for any criminal acts that may be related to the issue (server/Killary). What results is anyone can file a complaint (SF95) for civil injury. It’s never spelled out specifically due to the esoteric nature of the “legal” profession. But the union card holders (attorneys, judges, etc.) know that it could be profitable if anyone were to come forward with a claim. Be assured that if one were to make a civil claim against Pagliono, some ambulance chaser would gladly oblige.
03/8/16 9:38 PM | Comment Link
Links & Commentary Weekend 3/11-13 – The Aquarius Chronicles said...
26[…] Dept Grants Immunity to Staffer Who Set Up Clinton’s Email Server [Peter Van Buren] Van Buren spent 24 years at the State Department, so it’s fair to say that he has inside […]
03/14/16 7:08 AM | Comment Link