Bill and Hillary Clinton deducted expenses for “computer services,” “computer maintenance” and computer equipment from their taxes during the same time period that they were paying a State Department IT staffer to maintain a private email server in their New York home, a Daily Caller analysis reveals.
The Clintons’ tax documents show that the deductions were applied to Bill Clinton’s speech income. They also show that the former first couple wrote off computer equipment purchased in June 2013, the same month that the Clintons transferred custody of their mysterious email server to a Denver-based IT company.
While it was reported last week that the Clintons paid for the setup and maintenance of their server out of their own pockets, it is still unclear whether the money came from their personal non-business funds, or if the expenses were covered by one of their numerous companies or by their non-profit, the Clinton Foundation.
The Clinton campaign did not respond to a request for more background information on the matter. Clinton herself apologized on Friday for the “confusing” email arrangement. On Tuesday, she apologized for her exclusive use of a personal email account as secretary of state.
The tax records, which Clinton released as part of her presidential campaign earlier this year, show that she and Bill deducted $6,388 on “computer/phone” services in 2009. Only $328 was claimed the next year. They deducted $8,743 for “computer maintenance” in 2011, $1,239 for computers services in 2012, $3,726 in 2013 and $3,284 last year. Hillary Clinton claimed deductions from her speaking and book income of $6,375 for “technical support” and “moving expenses” last year as well.
The couple claimed tens of thousands of dollars in miscellaneous expenses while Clinton served as secretary of state.
In 2011, the Clintons spent $6,501 on computer equipment. And on June 30, 2013, they incurred computer equipment expenditures of $5,909, $1,986, and $1,141. All of the devices were reported as being used exclusively for business purposes, according to the tax documents.
Last week it emerged that the Clinton family paid Bryan Pagliano, a State Department IT staffer, to maintain her email server. Pagliano had served as IT director on Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign before being hired at the State Department as a special advisor and deputy chief information officer.
It was reported then that the Clintons paid Pagliano $5,000 for computer work before he took his State Department job in May 2009, several months after Clinton took office. Pagliano left the State Department in February 2013, the same month Clinton left office.
NEXT PAGE: IT Guy Paid $140,000 By The State Department
After Clinton left office, she hired Platte River Networks to manage her email system, seemingly replacing Pagliano, who is now a contractor who works closely with the State Department. Platte River moved Clinton’s server from her residence to a New Jersey data center.
Last week, Pagliano informed the House Select Committee on Benghazi that he would plead the fifth rather than testify about working on the server for the Clintons. Other congressional committees have offered to grant him immunity in exchange for shedding light on the system. (RELATED: Hillary’s IT Guy Says He’ll Plead The Fifth If Called To Testify About Home-Brew Email Server)
Pagliano reportedly did not disclose the side income he earned working on the email system to the State Department. A spokesman for the agency declined to comment on the matter during Tuesday’s daily press briefing. The State Department requires employees to disclose side income and also caps the amount that they can be paid at 15 percent of their total salary.
TheDC reported last week that Pagliano was paid around $140,000 when he worked at the State Department. (RELATED: How Much Was Hillary’s IT Guy Paid By The State Department?)
The Clinton campaign revealed that the Clintons personally paid Pagliano as speculation swirled that the State Department was paying for his work on the off-the-books email system. Citing the “private” nature of the server, Clinton had refused to turn it over to the government. That changed last month when the FBI took control of the server after the Intelligence Community inspector general determined that two emails that had traversed it contained “top secret” information.