Clinton IT aide to plead the Fifth in email case

[Babel_17]

16. Good point, but his lawyer won't let him open himself to any exposure

I'm definitely not a lawyer, and afaik this is a civil suit, so who knows if there's much precedent for compelling him to testify because of his FBI deal. Though I'm sure a lot of people would like to know a lot more about that deal, and what information he supplied.

I guess if a prosecutor's office was involved, and they had the motivation and the resources, they could seek cooperation from the DOJ on borrowing Pagliano to testify on what he's already provided. But that deal was narrow in scope so there's going to be an inherent risk if he said anything beyond quoting himself. I'll guess he would want more immunity but since this is a civil case, who has the power and inclination to grant it?

Now that I think about it ... the FBI may not be done with him, and they may strike another deal with him. Or maybe not, he might be at a real risk for being prosecuted for stuff he did not covered by his deal. These are murky waters. It sure raises questions when he pleads the fifth, but that might have been inevitable, depending on what exactly his deal with the FBI does and doesn't cover.