The top USA law enforcement official, under questioning from Republicans at a congressional hearing on Tuesday, shed no new light on the Justice Department’s decision not to prosecute Hillary Clinton over her handling of sensitive emails.
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AG Lynch: Congressman, I refer you to my statement you just commented on, with respect to… “I saw no reason not to accept it, and again I reiterate my pride and faith in their work”. Clinton’s lawyers argued against her having to testify in court papers filed on Tuesday, saying she had no more information to provide that was not already in the public record and that the Justice Department still had her emails and computer equipment.
The case has become a focus of attacks against Clinton by presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and sparked criticism by conservative politicians that the Justice Department was politically motivated to not prosecute Clinton.
“There was nothing about any investigations or any specific cases”, she said in response to a question about whether the email investigation was discussed during the meeting she and her husband had with Clinton aboard a private plane.
Lynch’s testimony was in contrast to FBI Director James Comey’s thorough answers to lawmakers about the case last week, an observation that was underlined by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte.
It was during that hearing Comey confirmed to USA lawmakers that while the Federal Bureau of Investigation found no basis to conclude that Clinton had lied to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, some of the former US secretary of state’s email defenses were false. On Monday, Goodlatte and Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) requested the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia investigate whether Clinton committed perjury before Congress.
“As we gather here this morning, that sense of safety has been shaken by the series of devastating events that rocked our nation last week”, Lynch said in her prepared opening statement. But Republicans suggested that Lynch, a Democratic political appointee, only worsened the perception that Hillary Clinton was getting special treatment.
“The recommendation that I received from the team, including director Comey, was the investigation be resolved without charges”, said Lynch.
Lynch likely faces questions about policing and race, as well as a decision not to bring charges against Hillary Clinton over her use of private email while secretary of state in a House hearing Tuesday, July 12, 2016.
Gowdy also asked why the Justice Department could not prosecute Clinton for “gross negligence”, part of the law’s standard.
“Your refusal to answer questions regarding one of the most important investigations of someone who seeks to serve in the highest office in this land is an abdication of your responsibility”, said Goodlatte.
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Issa later slammed Lynch’s insistence that her meeting with Bill Clinton was purely social. That followed police killings of Philando Castile, who was fatally shot near St. Paul, Minnesota, and Alton Sterling, who was shot in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
