I know that most of you are thinking, "It's about time" and "Why not Hillary". But these charges wouldn't relate to what the firm did for Hillary's server, but what it did in obstructing the investigation into the server. As is often the case in cases at this level, it's not about the crime, it's about the cover-up. And Platte River Network's response to the investigation relied on extraordinary chutzpah.
The private internet company hired by former secretary of state Hillary Clinton to maintain her private email server has been obstructing a congressional investigation into its actions for more than a year, prompting a leading lawmakers to refer the case to the Trump administration’s Department of Justice for criminal prosecution.
Rep. Lamar Smith (R., Texas), chairman of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, has asked the DOJ to prosecute Platte River Networks CEO Treve Suazo for obstructing a congressional investigation into his company’s role in providing security for Clinton’s home brewed email server, which became the subject of widespread debate following revelations that it had multiple security vulnerabilities.
Smith, whose committee has jurisdiction over the investigation, said the Congress would not tolerate Platte River's failure to comply with the investigation.
"The Committee is referring Mr. Treve Suazo, CEO of Platte River Networks, to the Department of Justice for prosecution under federal laws pertaining to failing to produce subpoenaed documents, making false statements to Congress regarding possession of documents, and obstructing Congress," Smith said in a statement.
Now Platte River was in a difficult situation. Providing information about a future president who is notorious for maintaining a list of enemies is a scary idea. But Platte's response landed it in far more hot water.
Multiple subpoenas and letters from the congressional investigation team went unanswered by Platte River, prompting Smith to refer the case to the DOJ for criminal prosecution.
Two other companies that were subpoenaed and investigated by the committee complied with requests for information. Only Platte River declined to help, according to committee staff.
At least two subpoenas issued by the committee were not answered by Platte River.
So that was about the worst possible way to handle a Federal inquiry. Just ignore it and hope it goes away on its own.
Bizarrely, Platte River Networks had spoken earlier this month about its crisis management strategy.
At the Channel Partners Conference & Expo 2017, held this week in Las Vegas, the managed services provider (MSP) involved in the controversy surrounding Hillary Clinton's private email server, spoke out about crisis management strategies it learned from the experience. According to Platte River Networks, the lessons gained from crisis could be applicable to any scenario where a channel firm's reputation is threatened.
The MSP hired a PR firm that specialized in crisis management strategies. In August 2015, when Platte River Network was publicly identified as the IT firm associated with the email server controversy and began to make headlines, the PR firm was indispensable, he said.
The negative attention on the MSP began to die down after the contentious 2016 election.
Too soon.