Three witnesses refuse to testify at Clinton email hearing

Three men involved with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s much maligned private email server refused to testify before the House Oversight Committee today, invoking their Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination. Bryan Pagliano, the former State Department computer specialist who set up the server, refused to appear before the committee, explaining his absence in a letter from his lawyer. Pagliano also previously refused to appear before the House panel investigating the 2012 terror attack in Benghazi, Libya, but spoke to the FBI under an immunity agreement. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said Pagliano would face consequences but didn’t offer specifics. Two other men who worked for the networking company that hosted Clinton’s server after she left office attended today’s hearing but refused to answer questions. The only witness who did testify, former White House aid Justin Cooper, said he bought the server and Clinton’s email domain name and helped her set up her electronic devices. But he denied any knowledge about the server’s security.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.