Jonathan Turley – In a move that can only be viewed as ominous by the Clinton legal team, the Justice Department has granted immunity to former State Department staffer, Bryan Pagliano, who worked on Hillary Clinton’s private email server. Pagliano had refused to cooperate after invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. He was an obvious target of potential criminal charges if he knew that the server was meant to circumvent federal laws, including the mishandling of classified information.  Update: there is a new report that investigators are zeroing in on the possibility that passwords were exchanged to allow people to access classified sites (and explaining how classified information seem to “jump the gap” between secure and non-secure systems).  That is a strictly prohibited practice.

The presumption is that this would be “use” rather than “transactional” immunity and the law references a court order. Here is the operative section on use immunity.  While the law does contemplate a court order, some prosecutors rely on a formal letter that confirms that any statements are made on the understanding of use immunity, particularly in cases that are not before a grand jury at the time of the interviews.

The Justice Department will often ask for a proffer from a defense attorney on what his client could offer in exchange for immunity. For critics, concern is that the Justice Department could be immunizing Clinton aides from criminal charges through such actions. However, Pagliano is in a position to do considerable damage if he can discuss the intent and knowledge behind the move to circumvent the State Department email system. While other secretaries have used private emails, Clinton used it exclusively and after the creation of a secure email system designed to protect classified and sensitive information. The move to use a private server is widely viewed as an effort by Clinton to retain total control over her communications – a move that obviously increased the likelihood of foreign interception considerably.

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