The Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee is pushing the Department of Justice to slap criminal charges on an aide who helped maintain Hillary Clinton’s private email system.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) sent a letter this week to the newly sworn in attorney general Jeff Sessions, demanding that Bryan Pagliano to be brought “before a grand jury” or be charged.
Pagliano, a former State Department senior advisor during Clinton’s tenure there, ignored multiple subpoeanas calling on him to testify before the House Oversight Committee.
“Because Pagliano’s job functions included supporting mobile computing issues across the Department, he was uniquely positioned to answer questions regarding State Department policies and practices for preserving records, as well as the technological procedures utilized to do so,” the Feb. 16 letter to Sessions reads.
“There is no legal basis for Pagliano’s refusal to appear before the Committee. If left unaddressed, Pagliano’s conduct in ignoring a lawful congressional subpoena could gravely impair Congress’s ability to exercise its core constitutional authorities of oversight and legislation,” it states.
Chaffetz — who has refused to probe the circumstances surrounding Michael Flynn’s resignation as national security adviser — concluded: “In light of Pagliano’s contumacious conduct in refusing to testify, the Department should bring the matter before a grand jury for its action or file an information charging Pagliano with violating 2 U.S.C. § 192.”
The law — 2 U.S.C. § 192 — gives Congress the ability to subpoeana witnesses. It also states violation of the law can result in a fine, between $100-$1,000 and a prison sentence of 1 month – 1 year.
The ranking Democrat on Chaffetz’s committee, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Maryland) said charging Pagliano is a waste of time.
“The Oversight Committee can’t afford to be distracted by political vendettas against Hillary Clinton while our constituents are begging us to conduct responsible oversight of President Trump.”
This article was originally published in the New York Post.