Advertisement

Report says Clinton personally paid staffer to run email server

 
Hillary Rodham Clinton participates in a health care roundtable Friday in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Hillary Rodham Clinton participates in a health care roundtable Friday in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Published Sept. 5, 2015

Hillary Rodham Clinton and her family personally paid a State Department staffer to maintain the private email server she used while heading the agency, an official from Clinton's presidential campaign told the Washington Post.

The unusual arrangement helped Clinton retain personal control over the system that she used for her public and private duties and that has emerged as an issue for her campaign. But, according to the campaign official, it also ensured that taxpayer dollars were not spent on a private server that was shared by Clinton, her husband and their daughter as well as aides to the former president.

That State Department staffer, Bryan Pagliano, told a congressional committee this week that he would invoke his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination instead of testifying about the setup.

The private employment of Pagliano provides a new example of the ways that Clinton — who occupied a unique role as a Cabinet secretary who was also a former and potentially future presidential candidate — hired staff to work simultaneously for her in public and private capacities.

Cheryl Mills, Clinton's chief of staff, and Huma Abedin, a close confidant who served as deputy chief of staff, both spent time working for the State Department, the Clinton Foundation or the Clintons personally.

Pagliano's employment by the Clintons was confirmed by a campaign official in response to questions from the Washington Post. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. A campaign spokesman declined to provide a statement.

Pagliano had served as the IT director of Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign and then worked for her political action committee.

The Clintons paid Pagliano $5,000 for "computer services" prior to his joining the State Department, according to a financial disclosure form he filed in April 2009.

But even after arriving at State in May 2009, Pagliano continued to be paid by the Clintons to maintain the server, which was in their Chappaqua, N.Y., home, the campaign official and another person familiar with the arrangement told the Washington Post.

The private pay arrangement has not previously been reported.

In an interview Friday with journalist Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC, Clinton discussed her use of a private email server.

"It wasn't the best choice," Clinton said. "I certainly have said that. I will continue to say that."

But the only reason Clinton said she was sorry was because it has been "confusing to people and has raised a lot of questions, but there are answers to all these questions."

Information from McClatchy Newspapers was used in this report.