Attorney General Lynch Repeatedly Dodges Lawmakers' Questions on Clinton Email Investigation

WASHINGTON (TheBlaze/AP) -- Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Tuesday repeatedly deflected lawmakers' questions about the conclusion of the Justice Department's investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server.

Despite repeated prodding from Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee, Lynch said that as attorney general it would be inappropriate for her to comment on specifics of the investigation.

She also referred questions to FBI Director James Comey, who last week recommended against prosecution for Clinton and her aides in laying out the findings of federal investigators.

Lynch accepted the recommendation from the FBI and from her prosecutors, and closed out the investigation without charges. She said that the team reviewed the facts and arrived at a unanimous recommendation that she was pleased to follow.

LIVE: Lynch says cannot provide comment or facts on Clinton email beyond what FBI has said. https://t.co/F3WgfYB6Pc pic.twitter.com/k4FJf9Fcxm

— Reuters Live (@ReutersLive) July 12, 2016

Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) also grilled Lynch over the Justice Department’s decision not to bring any criminal charges against Hillary Clinton for mishandling classified information.

Goodlatte questioned Lynch’s ability to be impartial given her personal connections to the Clintons.

“Why did you not see fit to recuse yourself from the investigation?” he asked. “Wouldn’t recusal or appointment of a special prosecutor have removed any appearance of impropriety given your service during Bill Clinton’s presidency?”

Lynch said the “matter was handled like any other matter” by DOJ prosecutors and she didn’t see a need to recuse herself.

Goodlatte also questioned the attorney general about her controversial meeting with former President Bill Clinton in the middle of the email investigation. Repeating her previous statements, Lynch said her meeting with the former president was personal in nature and didn’t discuss the email investigation.

Watch the exchange below:

NOW: Lynch says no connection to Hillary Clinton, no need to recuse herself from email probe https://t.co/F3WgfYB6Pc pic.twitter.com/rlgDz81pVd

— Reuters Live (@ReutersLive) July 12, 2016

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