Sanders still sees a pathway to his victory and has stepped up his criticism of Clinton on her past support of trade deals that Sanders said decimated manufacturing hubs like Detroit and Flint.
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Clinton’s decision to use a private server potentially put thousands of pages of State Department emails at risk, but it also shielded her correspondence from congressional and Freedom of Information Act requests.
Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.as she arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 9, 2016, to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on oversight of the Justice Department.
But in their letter to Pagliano, the senators argue that the immunity grant from the Justice Department – which is investigating the potential mishandling of sensitive information on the server – means the “Fifth Amendment privilege is no longer applicable”.
The first lawsuit seeks emails, BlackBerry Messenger or text messages between then-Secretary of State Clinton and several key senior aides, including her chief of staff, Cheryl Mills, and director of policy planning, Jake Sullivan.
One year ago, The Associated Press reported its discovery of Clinton’s private email server, which she ran in the basement of her home in Chappaqua, New York, to use exclusively for her work-related emails while she was secretary of state. However, federal investigators, looking into the latest batch of Clinton’s emails released by the State Department, have determined that at least some of the emails contain classified information.
The ongoing investigation is now reportedly focused on determining whether the possible “intersection” of Clinton Foundation affairs and State Department business may have violated public corruption laws.
Clinton also tried to smear the inspectors general for State and the intelligence community, both of whom were appointed by President Obama.
“No, sir, I have not”, she replied adding that she did not anticipate doing so in the future.
A spokesman for the Clinton campaign, Brian Fallon, said the campaign is pleased Pagliano is cooperating.
The request followed revelations that Bryan Pagliano was granted immunity by the Justice Department. “Earnest or anyone at the White House about this matter”, or other law enforcement investigations, she said. Pagliano had previously asserted his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination to refuse to answer questions from lawmakers investigating the server setup.
Committee chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa is asking Pagliano to appear before the committee now that he’s received immunity.
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Then-Attorney General Eric Holder directed in 2012 that “politics must play no role” in investigations or criminal charges, and said prosecutors should not choreograph criminal charges or investigations for the objective of affecting an election. “What I can assure you is that I am very close personally to that investigation to ensure that we have the resources we need, including people and technology, and that it’s done the way the FBI tries to do all of it’s work: independently, competently and promptly”.
