Sen. John Cornyn, the second-highest ranking Republican in the Senate, said a special counsel is needed now more than ever in the Hillary Clinton email investigation after news broke that Attorney General Loretta Lynch met earlier this week with former President Bill Clinton.
“This incident does nothing to instill confidence in the American people that her department can fully and fairly conduct this investigation, and that’s why a special counsel is needed now more than ever,” Cornyn, R-Texas, said in a statement Thursday.
Lynch met privately with former President Bill Clinton in Arizona for roughly 30 minutes Tuesday amid an ongoing Justice Department investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server. The meeting took place aboard a plane parked at Phoenix’ Sky Harbor international airport, although whether it occurred on Lynch’s government plane or Clinton’s is in dispute.
Lynch confirmed the meeting when reporters asked her about it during a news conference later Tuesday at the Phoenix Police Department, but she said nothing about the case was discussed and the discussion was limited to personal matters.
The attorney general was in Phoenix as part of her national tour to promote community policing.
Cornyn, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has repeatedly called for the appointment of a special counsel in the Clinton email case, citing myriad Justice Department conflicts of interest.
News of the meeting between Clinton and Lynch is causing headaches for Democrats and the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic nominee.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., told CNN Thursday that he would have advised her not to meet with Bill Clinton, although he said he stills believes she can be impartial in handling the investigation and its outcome.
Several GOP-appointed prosecutors are now calling for the appointment of a special counsel, arguing that Lynch broke a well-known ethics rules barring conversations with witnesses and potential targets of FBI investigations.
