A Secret Service agent assigned to protect former President Bill Clinton performed “network assessments” and information technology troubleshooting for the Clinton Foundation and also provided research on security issues for Bill and Hillary Clinton’s email server in Chappaqua, New York. These revelations are included in FBI interview transcripts released Monday.
Although the time period the agent (whose identity is redacted) was assigned to Bill Clinton’s detail is redacted, as well as the dates the agent worked for the Clinton Foundation, “he… assisted the Clinton Foundation in a case related to theft of information on the Clinton Foundation Information systems.” Yet while Reuters reported in August that the Clinton Foundation was concerned about possible hacking this year, there are no other media reports in prior years regarding stolen information from Foundation computers. The Clinton Foundation did not respond to a request for more information about the work conducted by the Secret Service agent.
During his interview with the FBI, the Secret Service agent also related that he was contacted by Justin Cooper, a long-time senior advisor of Bill Clinton who helped set up the server at the Clintons’ home in Chappaqua, to assist with email security. The agent said he simply researched information on the topic which he then, per Cooper’s instructions, passed along to Bryan Pagliano, the State Department employee and former Hillary Clinton campaign staffer who was largely responsible for setting up the server for the Clintons.
Pagliano himself was given immunity by the Justice Department for his testimony to the FBI but has asserted his Fifth Amendment rights when asked to testify before Congress. The Hillary Clinton campaign did not respond to a request for further information on the agent’s part in helping the Clinton’s with security on their server.
Below is the relevant portion of the FBI transcript containing the agent’s testimony:
Cathy Milhoan, Director of Communications for the U.S. Secret Service, did not have an immediate answer on details regarding the agent’s work for the Clintons and the Clinton Foundation, or the Secret Service’s response to the circumstances as they played out. This story will be updated when further information is available.
