Platte River Networks CEO Faces Possible Criminal Prosecution After Clinton Email Server Controversy

The saga of the solution provider that managed the Hillary Clinton email server isn't over yet, as the Republican congressman leading the investigation moved on Thursday to press criminal charges against the CEO of Platte River Networks.

In a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday, Republican Committee Chairman Lamar Smith asked for the department to consider criminal charges against CEO Treve Suazo for his alleged failure to cooperate with the investigation. The letter alleges Suazo failed to produce documents, failed to produce employees for interviews, made false statements regarding access to the documents, and generally obstructed the investigation.

The investigation, which began in January 2016 and is led by the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, looked into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server, managed by Platte River Networks, during her time as Secretary of State.

"There is no legacy basis for Mr. Suazo's refusal to cooperate and comply fully with the Committee's subpoenas. Instead of cooperation, the Committee was met with obstruction and refusal to comply with subpoenas and requests for transcribed interviews. These actions, taken together, as well as Mr. Suazo's false statements to the Committee, made through counsel, support the pattern of obstruction," the letter said. "If left unaddressed, Mr. Suazo's conduct in ignoring lawful congressional subpoenas, misleading the Committee through false statements, and bald refusal to respond to reasonable requests could gravely impair Congress's ability to exercise its core constitutional authorities of oversight and legislation."

Platte River Networks did not respond to CRN requests for comment.

The move to press criminal charges is the latest in a series of challenging circumstances that Platte River has faced since it emerged in August 2015 that the company had been hired by the Clintons in 2013 to manage the email server in question in the investigation.

It is not yet clear if the Justice Department intends to follow through with the congressman's request for criminal charges. The FBI has already undertaken a criminal investigation into the classified material on the server and did not ultimately file any charges against Clinton.