Attorney general wishes she hadn't met with Bill Clinton

[rooster59]

Attorney general wishes she hadn't met with Bill Clinton

ERIC TUCKER, Associated Press


WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Loretta Lynch is expressing regret that she sat down with Bill Clinton while his wife is under federal criminal investigation, a chance encounter she acknowledges "cast a shadow" on the public's perception of a case bound to influence the presidential campaign.

"I certainly wouldn't do it again," Lynch said of the meeting. For Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee, the episode raised the risk that voters will see her anew as half of a power couple that makes its own rules.

Lynch hastened to add that she intended to follow the recommendations of career prosecutors on whether to file criminal charges at the close of the investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails, indicating that she would accept whatever decision is presented to her.

The attorney general's remarks at a conference in Colorado were aimed at tamping down concerns that the investigation could be politically tainted or that Lynch, an Obama administration appointee, might overrule the findings of agents and prosecutors who have spent months looking into the possible mishandling of classified information on the private email server Clinton used as secretary of state.

Lynch said she understood that her private meeting with Clinton aboard her plane in Phoenix might be seen as compromising the neutrality of the investigation, even though she said the chat was largely social and her department's probe of Hillary Clinton was not discussed.

Asked what she was thinking in permitting the meeting to occur, Lynch said: "I completely get that question, and I think it is the question of the day."

The outcome of the investigation is likely to shape the presidential campaign, whether to Clinton's benefit if she emerges unscathed or to Republican rival Donald Trump's advantage in the event that she or anyone close to her winds up prosecuted.

Bill Clinton's approach of the attorney general also could aggravate questions of trust that already hang over Hillary Clinton in the minds of some voters — even if she's never charged. She has struggled through the campaign to overcome unease about her honesty even while she asserts that she is more trustworthy than Trump on issues that matter most to voters.

Trump tweeted that "Bill's meeting was probably initiated and demanded by Hillary," without offering evidence of that. "Does anybody really believe that meeting was just a coincidence?" he asked. The Clinton campaign declined to comment on Lynch's remarks.

Lynch said she had decided even before the tarmac meeting to heed the recommendations of a team of federal agents and career prosecutors who have been working on the case.

But she acknowledged that the talk with Bill Clinton had become a "painful" episode that reinforced the need for her to clarify to the public her role in the investigation, as well as the decision-making authority given to career Justice Department prosecutors. She said the meeting with Clinton would have no impact on the outcome.

The encounter was especially sensitive given the repeated efforts by Lynch and FBI Director James Comey to stress that the investigation is being done independently and without regard to politics.

"This case will be resolved by the team that's been working on it from the beginning," she said Friday.

Bill Clinton, like his wife's campaign, declined through spokespeople to comment on Lynch's remarks.

It's certainly not the first time the ex-president's missteps, often on behalf of his wife, have attracted attention. In February, for instance, he compared supporters of Clinton opponent Sen. Bernie Sanders to GOP tea party activists and more recently described the controversy over his wife's private email server as a "game."

Congressional Republicans seized on the meeting between the former president and the attorney general.

Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the third-ranking House Republican, said Lynch should recuse herself entirely from the case and appoint a special prosecutor. Lynch had said she would still be briefed on the investigation and review the results, but let the career officials make the call on whether a prosecution should go ahead.

"The notion that the prosecutor, the person who runs the Justice Department, would spend 30 minutes in a private conversation with the spouse of someone her department is investigating raises all sorts of red flags and even Democrats have admitted it," GOP Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida told Miami 610 WIOD Radio.

Lynch says the meeting was unplanned and happened while the former president was waiting to depart on another plane. She said he walked over and boarded her plane after she landed.

She said Clinton talked about his grandchildren and told her he had been playing golf in Arizona. She said they discussed former Attorney General Janet Reno, whom they both know.

"We basically said hello, and I congratulated him on his grandchildren as people tend to do," she said Friday. "It really was a social meeting," she added. "He spoke to me, he spoke to my husband."

Orlando, Florida, attorney John Morgan, a longtime Clinton fundraiser, said that's the Bill Clinton he knows. "If, in the plane next to his was me, he would come over and come up, because that is what he does," Morgan said. "It doesn't matter if it's Loretta Lynch or Loretta Lynn. He's coming over if he knows you."

____

Associated Press writers Ken Thomas, Donna Cassata, Stephen Braun, Kathleen Hennessey and Catherine Lucey contributed to this report.

-- (c) Associated Press 2016-07-02

[NovaBlue05]

She just couldn't resist that Bubba charm

[Diplomatico]

On a related note, Juanita Broaddrick said the same thing.

[shirtless]

For an AG, she is very dumb if she could not see a conflict of interest.

[Boon Mee]

The fix is in.

Corruption all the way down and so flagrent!

The Clintons are such a power that laws don't mean anything to them?

Redundant question, I know...

[MaxYakov]

"Asked what she was thinking in permitting the meeting to occur, Lynch said: "I completely get that question, and I think it is the question of the day.""

She doesn't know much about "the appearance of impropriety" with respect to the law, but she does know how to dodge a question.

Good choice, Obama!

[HenryB]

It looks like she told him it does not look good for Hillary And their is nothing she can do the FBI is after Hillary

I say Hillary does not run in 2016

[colinneil]

Lynch needs to watch her back.

As we have already seen many times people who speak up against the Clintons die in funny circumstances.

[helpisgood]

Even though they might not have talked about the investigation or anything related to it, they still should not have had any kind of conversation with each other. At most, it should not have been more than what obviously would appear as a quick "Hello!" and "Have a nice day!" done for the clear purpose of avoiding a rude snubbing to a not unlikely self-assertive Bill Clinton.

They are both attorneys and know full well that they are supposed to avoid even the mere appearance of an impropriety. My guess is that Lynch got an earful of this shortly after the meeting (e.g., "Didn't you go to law school?"). It must have been very embarrassing for her.

[Monomial]

They are both attorneys and know full well that they are supposed to avoid even the mere appearance of an impropriety.

Which begs the question, what did they discuss that was so important they were both willing to do something they clearly knew was improper? No thinking person will believe this was just a social call.

So what was she thinking? Obviously she was thinking that whatever it was that needed to be said was so important that she was willing to accept the consequences.

The whole thing is rather worrying, as is Trump's conjecture that whoever has Hillary's deleted emails in effect has the ability to blackmail a possible future president of the United States. As far as coverups go, this one has all the hallmarks. The real question is a coverup of what? If it is something relatively benign, they sure are going to a lot of trouble to make it look like something more serious.

[JetsetBkk]

"We basically said hello, and I congratulated him on his grandchildren as people tend to do," she said Friday. "It really was a social meeting," she added. "He spoke to me, he spoke to my husband."

And how long did that take?

Orlando, Florida, attorney John Morgan, a longtime Clinton fundraiser, said...

Matters nothing what he said.

[phantomfiddler]

Politics just keeps getting worse. Clinton should be behind bars (and NOT serving beer !)

[Asiantravel]

this is an easy question to answer

https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/north_america/2016-u-s-presidential-election/hillary-the-most-devious-politician-of-all-time/

[ggt]

What the Attorney General really means is: She wish she had not been "caught" meeting with the Former President of the United States...whose wife is running for President while under a FBI Investigation...that is what she really means...

If anyone thinks this was just happenstance...you are truly a loyal Democrat...this was pre-planned...my guess a brown envelope filled with green paper was exchanged...along with solidifying the game plan for not indicting the criminal Hilary Clinton...

'

[bassman]

Lynch is a lying, twisted attorney general and should be impeached. She said they "predominantly" talked about all the grand kids and golf. Slick Willey did not play golf in Phoenix and notice Lynch doesn't mention it again. Slick Willey landed in Phoenix at noon, made two events and met the AG late afternoon, no time for golf and the temp in Phoenix that day was 110, Bill has heart problems and would not be on a golf course in those conditions. She has been caught out in a bold faced lie, which alone discredits her attempts to cover up the secret meeting.

Bill is himself most probably a target of investigation by the FBI/Justice Dept., remember he runs the scandal clad Clinton foundation, and profited by the tens of millions of dollars selling his wife's influence as Sec of State. This was through his million dollar speeches, to the worlds most terrible despots. And what happened two days after the meeting, DOJ has submitted for a two year delay in releasing the 35,000 known emails between Hillary's corrupted state department and the Clinton foundation.

Amazing how the media of the elite don't connect the dots, just a simple matter of two planes bumping into each other on the runway.

New email releases show Hillary's insider attempts, with classified information, to help her Goldman Sachs son in law with his hedge fund during the Greek crisis in Europe.

The criminality of America's "First Family of Crime" has no limits. Breaking news shows more of their profiteering with government blessings:

Clinton sought secret info on EU bailout plans as son-in-law's doomed hedge fund gambled on Greece (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/07/01/clinton-sought-secret-info-on-eu-bailou)

[mrwebb8825]

I've been asking myself just how the hell he knew that was her plane when I came across this article: http://drrichswier.com/2016/06/30/55541/

Seems to tell the story just a bit differently.

[Pinot]

55555 All the wingnuts trying to make something from nothing in the hopes that it somehow damages HRC. Nothing happened, it was an incidental meeting, they were in the same airport but the the Fox News right wing media echo chamber is trying to paint the AG as complicit in something. Ridiculous.

That's really all the Republicans have at this point. Get Hillary into jail so Trump can get elected. 55555

Republicans are screwed. They got nothing, no...they got Trump...less than nothing.

[Pinot]

The fix is in.

Corruption all the way down and so flagrent!

The Clintons are such a power that laws don't mean anything to them?

Redundant question, I know...

Everything is a big conspiracy with Republicans. The Benghazi panel’s investigation effectively exonerating Hillary Clinton, right-wing conspiracy wingnuts this week had no choice but to give up and find a new hobby. Benghazi conspiracy theorists are so creative, and so unmoved by evidence or reason, that they can convince themselves that congressional Republicans are in on the conspiracy. This week it's Trey Gowdy was in on the conspiracy! This coming from Republicans!

This is why Trump is the perfect Republican candidate, "MR. THE FIX IS IN"

Some of his recent gems:

1. President Obama wasn’t born in America

2. A pro-Muslim parade taking place on the streets of Jersey City on September 11, 2001

3. Antonin Scalia, who was 79 and overweight when he died in his sleep at a Texas ranch, was murdered.

4. Ted Cruz's father was with Lee Harvey Oswald when he shot JFK

5. Hillary Clinton is a physically abusive lesbian.

HRC helped fake moon landings? You never know where the next one will be thrown up on the bullshit wall. What is predictable is the next silly, cynical theory is right around the corner.

[Scott]

Off-topic post removed.

[Trouble]

55555 All the wingnuts trying to make something from nothing in the hopes that it somehow damages HRC. Nothing happened, it was an incidental meeting, they were in the same airport but the the Fox News right wing media echo chamber is trying to paint the AG as complicit in something. Ridiculous.

That's really all the Republicans have at this point. Get Hillary into jail so Trump can get elected. 55555

Republicans are screwed. They got nothing, no...they got Trump...less than nothing.

The problem with thinking like yours is that you place survival of liberal political agenda above everything else. Everything that comes up is a right wing conspiracy. You are so worried that the liberal political agenda maybe halted for four years that you will vote for a person like Hillary no matter what, to advance your agenda. I have many friends with similar views and they just refuse to even discuss any of Hillary's rather telling improprieties. For some reason they cannot see that she and her husband are not the kind of people we should have in the White House. Forget your dislike for Trump and all things conservative for a moment and look at this woman. If even 10% of the things which have been reported or written about her are correct, she has has no business being President. There is just too much information out there about the Clintons to ignore, but the left is good at doing just that. If a fraction of the things written in the book "Clinton Cash" is correct, the Clintons should be the last persons anyone would want in the White House. Now there are new revelations in the new book by the Secret Service agent that is being bashed as a right wing conspiracy. The Clintons actually make Nixon look clumsy in his attempt to shield himself from the Watergate break in. There can be little question that Hillary used her position as Secretary of State to enrich the Clinton Foundation and her own political financing capabilities while in office. She is entangled with Wall Street and the various people the liberals denigrate so often as the monster of all evil and yet ignore that she is tainted. There is no doubt in my mind that Hillary stayed with Bill throughout his numerous infidelities to further her own political aspirations. She sold herself out in hopes of becoming president. So Democrats will vote for this woman who has put up with Bill, gotten in bed with Wall Street, used her positions as Senator and Secretary of State to further her personal ambition to be President, all in spite of so many not trusting her.

After almost eight years of a stagnant economy, almost doubling the national debt and no progress in getting this country back on tract or helping the unemployed, people on food stamps and on other social programs get back to work, the liberal agenda of pro choice, LGBT rights, amnesty for immigrants, forgiveness of college loans, etc., is in the end what counts. I am certainly glad that I sold my business in 2007 and have no worries because if I was in business today I would be extremely worried about the stagnant economy and percentage of the people not engaged in the work force. In the end, it is the economy that is the engine that makes American work and we certainly are not where we need to be. If the nation is working, most of the other things take care of themselves. That has not happened and many in business will see a Hillary election as just a continuation of the same lack luster attempt at going after social issues which in the end do not matter all that much to the majority of the people struggling to survive.

[spidermike007]

Blundering Barry continues his career long habit of appointing very mediocre people, to be by his side. When you consider his appointees, it is a group with an astonishing lack of talent. Perhaps he feels smarter when he is in the same room with people of this level of mediocrity? I just cannot figure out another explanation for this. There is alot of talent out there. How does he end up with people like Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, Timothy Geithner, Janet Napolitano, Hilda Solis, Shaun Donovan, Todd Stern, John Holdren, Mark Lloyd, David Ogden, Elena Kagen, Arne Duncan, Kevin Jennings, Susan Rice, Howard Koh, Samantha Power, Rosa Brooks, Valerie Jarrett, David Alexrod, Carol Browner, and Melody Barnes. How does he find these people. What made him think they were the best people for the job?

On some levels he reminds me of a Thai PM. It does not appear that merit is the primary consideration.

[F430murci]

Only because she got caught.

[NongKhaiKid]

Hindsight is 20/20 vision so she says she wouldn't do it again so why do it in the first place, a poor decision from someone in her position.

[manarak]

so... can we now ask the author of the story why it gets published now?

[Usernames]

Hillary putting out the word that she just may decide to retain Lynch as AG. Wonder what will make her finally decide whether to do so or not???? http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/07/04/us/politics/hillary-clinton-president.html