Washington Post opinion writer Jonathan Capehart said Friday that he sympathizes with Attorney General Loretta Lynch as she works to tamp down controversy over her recent meeting with former president Bill Clinton.
After interviewing Lynch, Capehart said on MSNBC that she has a “solid gold reputation,” but that she “found herself” in an uncomfortable situation.
“It’s not that she’s worried about her reputation for judgement and integrity,” said Capehart. “What we saw on that stage was an attorney general who is very concerned about what this incident means for the integrity and the public’s confidence in the Department of Justice.”
Capehart interviewed Lynch at the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado, where the attorney general admitted her meeting earlier this week with Clinton raised “reasonable” questions.
Lynch is overseeing a federal investigation of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, and critics say that the private meeting with Clinton’s husband has compromised the process.
Lynch said she would not recuse herself from her role in overseeing the investigation of Clinton’s mishandling of sensitive government information while she was secretary of state. She said, however, that she planned to accept the recommendation of the FBI on whether to indict Clinton once the probe is complete.
News of the private meeting between Lynch and Bill Clinton in Phoenix broke earlier this week and Lynch confirmed it to reporters on Wednesday. She said that the meeting, which happened on an airport tarmac, was “primarily social” and that the two did not discuss the federal investigation.
