Republicans and some Democrats are bristling at the news that former President Bill Clinton and Attorney General Loretta Lynch met privately earlier this week while an FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton’s handling of classified material continues under Lynch’s purview.
One former U.S. attorney said the meeting was “highly inappropriate.”
“I can’t imagine, when I was a federal prosecutor, meeting with the spouse of a subject or target of an investigation,” said Matthew Whitaker, who is now president of the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust.
“For the rank-and-file person at the Department of Justice, I think it’s demoralizing when their boss doesn’t respect the line that should not be crossed in an investigation,” added Whitaker, who was named a U.S. attorney by President George W. Bush.
Lynch and Bill Clinton met for roughly 30 minutes in Phoenix Tuesday when their planes crossed paths on the tarmac.
The attorney general insisted she had not discussed the email probe with Bill Clinton during what she characterized as an impromptu social visit.
“There was no discussion of any matter pending for the department or any matter pending for any other body,” Lynch said.
Some congressional Democrats dismissed the meeting as inconsequential Thursday.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Lynch was an “outstanding human being” and downplayed concerns that the conversation between Bill Clinton and the attorney general posed any potential conflicts of interest.
“Her ethics are above reproach,” Reid told reporters. “No one could ever question her strong feelings about the rule of law and her ethics are the best.”
But some Democrats seemed to agree that the meeting between the attorney general and the husband of an FBI investigation subject presented an uncomfortable political picture for the presumptive Democratic nominee.
David Axelrod, former senior advisor to President Obama, said the meeting looked “foolish.”
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said Thursday morning during an appearance on CNN that the meeting “doesn’t send the right signal.”
Donald Trump pointed to the meeting as further evidence that the political system is “rigged” during a radio interview Thursday.
“It was really a sneak. It was really something that they didn’t want to be publicized as I understand it,” Trump said. “Wow, I just think it’s so terrible, I think it’s so horrible.”
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, began calling for a special prosecutor in September amid fears that the Clinton email probe would fail to progress for political reasons.
Months later, the investigation has consumed significant agency resources and has reportedly expanded to include Hillary Clinton’s treatment of donors to her family’s foundation. Other congressional Republicans have joined the growing calls for the Justice Department to name an independent counsel.
Cornyn chimed in Thursday, arguing the meeting reinforces the need to name an independent counsel to the case.
David Bossie, president of Citizens United and vocal advocate for the appointment of a special prosecutor, said the meeting “reeks to high heaven.”
“Hillary Clinton is under FBI criminal investigation and Lynch’s meeting with Bill Clinton cements the view that she cannot conduct an impartial investigation,” Bossie said.
“It’s simply not believable that the pending FBI criminal investigation into the Clinton email server wasn’t discussed because this bizarre meeting was not supposed to be publicly disclosed in the first place,” he added.
