Democrats also hoped that holding the interview on a holiday weekend might ease the anticipated storm. Shortly after the meeting, two black SUVs were seen returning to Clinton’s house in the capital, but Clinton stayed out of sight.
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Ms. Lynch said she understands questions about the episode last week, and that while she wouldn’t do it again, the meet-up has no bearing on how the investigation into Mrs. Clinton’s email practices.
But many observers have said this week that Lynch’s meeting with Bill Clinton has tainted the integrity of the investigation. She agreed that the tone of the session was civil and business-like.
On Tuesday, Obama is set to join Clinton in a campaign event in battleground North Carolina meant to personalize the “I trust Hillary” theme.
She declined to discuss specifics about the email investigation itself – or the unconfirmed reports that the probe will soon end, with no charges to be pressed against her.
Spokesperson for the Clinton campaign said that she gave a voluntary interview to Federal Bureau of Investigation today morning about her email arrangements. Not only is the fate of her campaign largely in the hands of the Justice Department, but this was an entirely avoidable incident that hits her on one of her most persistent vulnerabilities – how voters doubt her trustworthiness.
The White House has maintained that the Justice Department is keeping politics out of the investigation, which is happening at the same time as Hillary Clinton’s run for office.
She also said she had made that decision some months ago but was only now making it public.
USA correspondent Jack Tame told Andrew Dickens the Justice department has been investigating Ms Clinton for over a year now, to ascertain whether her and or a member of her staff committed a crime in using a private email address. She insisted that the email probe was not mentioned.
Mrs Clinton used a private email server for her government and personal emails rather than the State Department’s email system during her tenure.
Clinton has consistently denied handling classified information in her private emails. “And I give her credit for saying she’s made some mistakes”, he said on “Fox News Sunday”.
Asked Saturday on MSNBC if she had broken the law, Mrs. Clinton repeated her defense: “I never received nor sent any material that was marked classified”.
There has been no indication that sensitive information was compromised by Mrs Clinton’s use of a private server.
Lynch’s announcement followed news of a private meeting with former President Bill Clinton aboard her plane earlier this week. Lynch acknowledged that it “cast a shadow” on the public’s perception of the case. It seemed as though she couldn’t help but moan about the optics surrounding Bill Clinton’s secret meeting with Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
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The FBI is investigating whether anyone in Mrs Clinton’s operation broke the law as result of a personal email server kept in her Chappaqua, New York, home while she was secretary of state from 2009 to 2013. The Associated Press revealed the existence of the server in March 2015.
