House Committee Votes to Hold Clinton IT Staffer in Contempt of Congress

Bryan Pagliano failed to show up to two hearings despite being subpoenaed.

Pagliano was the IT staffer who set up Clinton's private email server during her time as secretary of state.

On Sept. 13, Pagliano did not show up to testify before the committee despite being subpoenaed. After his chair was vacant again at today's hearing, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah and chairman of the committee, held a vote to hold Pagliano in contempt of Congress for his refusal to comply with a subpoena issued by the committee.

The vote passed 19 to 15, split along party lines. The resolution will now travel to the House floor.

“I simply cannot vote for a resolution that is potentially so unethical,” Cummings said.

Cummings has continuously charged that the hearings related to Clinton's email server are political in nature.

"The chairman is saying that his rule is that the witness has to come before the Committee and be subjected to what the witnesses were subjected to last week," Lynch said, later adding, "We’re continuing to try to embarrass this particular witness.”

Pagliano’s lawyer, Mark MacDougall, has said that if his client were brought before the committee, he would plead the Fifth Amendment.

Contempt of Congress is defined in statute 2 U.S.C.A. § 192 and is punishable by a maximum $1,000 fine and up to 12 months of imprisonment.