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Lynch Avoids Clinton Email Questions in Testimony

Hillary previously testified about her emails to Gowdy’s House Benghazi Committee.

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Ms. Lynch, who had the final say, said she agreed with Mr. Comey, and closed out the case.

AFP adds: US Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Tuesday defended her decision not to take legal action against Hillary Clinton over her use of a private email server.

The panels chairman, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., strenuously criticized Lynch over her decision, charging that it “does not seem to be a responsible way to uphold your constitutionally sworn oath.”. The State Department is conducting its own internal review of Clinton emails, congressional Republicans want the DOJ to conduct a criminal investigation into whether Clinton lied to Congress about emails in testimony previous year, and the issue of emails will be talked about and debated into November.

During her testimony, Lynch was unable to provide members of the committee answers to their questions. Last week, he joined 200 House Republicans in demanding answers to a series of questions raised by the FBI’s investigation and recommendation on Clinton.

Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Oversight committee, said in response to the criminal referral that “Republicans are so frustrated with the FBI’s unanimous decision that they are now completely unloading on Secretary Clinton with everything they’ve got – right before the presidential conventions”.

In his statement before the FBI recommended closing the email investigation, Comey said the FBI “found no evidence that any of the additional work-related emails were intentionally deleted in an effort to hide them”.

Following Comey’s recommendation, Attorney General Loretta Lynch said the DOJ would not pursue charges against Clinton.

Lynch said she decided “to accept the recommendation of the team of agents and investigators who worked on this” and that “all of the relevant facts were considered and investigated thoroughly”.

“I would have to refer you to Director Comey”, she said. Nor had she discussed with them a position in the Hillary Clinton administration, she said.

She reiterated that her encounter with Bill Clinton at the Phoenix airport last month, after he saw her airplane and asked to board to greet her, was social in nature and “there was nothing about any investigations or any specific cases”. Her lack of sophistication undercut his ability to make that case, he said.

Judicial Watch, a conservative legal watchdog group, has filed a motion arguing that it needs to depose the presumptive Democratic nominee for president to answer six questions.

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Secretary Clinton has said repeatedly that she never received or sent any emails that were marked with any level of classified status.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch testifies on Capitol Hill