How the Email Story is Out of Hillary Clinton's Controlby Chuck Todd, Mark Murray and Carrie Dann
>  House Select Committee on Benghazi Chairman Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., speaks to reporters before a closed meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015. The House committee investigating the deadly 2012 Benghazi attacks is interviewing former top aide to Hillary Rodham Clinton, Cheryl Mills, as the panel resumes its review of the 2012 terrorist attack in Libya and Clinton's use of a private email server. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) Susan Walsh / AP
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First Read is a morning briefing from Meet the Press and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter.
Another reminder of how the email story is out of Hillary's control
Last night's news that a former Clinton IT staffer who helped set up Hillary Clinton's private server is invoking the Fifth Amendment and refusing to testify before the House Benghazi committee is yet another reminder how this email story is out of her control. After all, what's in the best interests of the campaign (Team Clinton released a statement that they wanted the former aide, Bryan Pagliano, to testify) isn't necessarily in the best interests of everyone involved (Pagliano's lawyer certainly thought otherwise). And when that dynamic is at play, things are no longer in your hands. The other (and maybe more important) reminder about how this entire story is no longer in Hillary Clinton's control is the current FBI investigation into whether classified information was mishandled. That FBI investigation could potentially end tomorrow. Or it could end a year from now -- which would be politically problematic for the Clinton campaign. Bottom line: In sheer political terms, you have to hand it to House Republicans: They created a fishing expedition with their Benghazi committee. And maybe this email story doesn't turn out to be a marlin, but it's sure a nice grouper.
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The Clinton campaign responds
Here's the response from the Clinton campaign on Pagliano invoking the Fifth, per NBC's Kristen Welker: "We have been confident from the beginning that Hillary Clinton's use of a personal email was allowed and that she did not send or receive anything marked classified, facts confirmed by the State Department and the Inspector General," the campaign said. "She has made every effort to answer questions and be as helpful as possible, and has encouraged her aides, current and former, to do the same, including Bryan Pagliano." More: "Bryan is an utter professional and a wonderful young man who does not live in the public eye and understandably may not wish to be drawn into a political spectacle. So his decision is both understandable and yet also disappointing to us, because we believe he has every reason to be transparent about his IT assistance." Indeed, it is worth noting that former top Clinton aide Cheryl Mills is testifying before the Benghazi committee today (behind closed doors), as NBC's Alex Moe reports. |
