Judicial Watch may not get much out of their next deponent in its Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the U.S. State Department as it relates to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server.
In a court filing Wednesday, attorneys for Bryan Pagliano, the former Clinton presidential campaign IT adviser who set up the private server, requested a protective order to prevent Judicial Watch from video or audio recording his deposition. That’s because Pagliano doesn’t plan to answer any of the conservative watchdog group’s questions.
“Mr. Pagliano will invoke his right under the Fifth Amendment and decline to testify at the deposition noticed for June 6, 2016,” the filing states. “On May 21, 2016, Mr. Pagliano provided notice to Judicial Watch that, given the narrow scope of discovery articulated in the Discovery Order, he will decline to answer any and all questions that may be put to him in reliance on his rights under the Fifth Amendment.”
Pagliano’s attorneys had tried to get Judicial Watch to withdraw its subpoena, but the group insisted on continuing with the deposition. The group has also said it plans to resist his attorneys’ motion for a protective order.
Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton has said the video recording of the deposition allows the presiding judge to determine if the IT expert is genuine in invoking his Fifth Amendment-protected rights.
Pagliano has previously refused to answer questions from Congress, invoking his Fifth Amendment rights before the House Select Committee on Benghazi and rejecting requests from leaders of the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security committees to answer their questions. He did, however, take part in an interview with the FBI after he was reportedly given some form of immunity.
