Attorney General Loretta Lynch now says she regrets her tarmac meeting with former President Bill Clinton in Arizona last summer, which came just days before the FBI cleared Hillary Clinton from any criminal wrongdoing in her use of a private email server.

The suspicious meeting — which no one knows what was actually discussed — was a concern for many. Because even if Lynch and Clinton weren't talking about Hillary's email scandal, the optics were extremely bad for the sitting attorney general.

Still, many contend that Clinton was making a final plea to Lynch to ensure that the outcome of the investigation would be in Hillary's favor.

But Lynch said on CNN "State of the Union" Sunday that the regret she feels over the meeting is because of the concern it gave many people.

"I do regret sitting down and having a conversation with him, because it did give people concern. And as I said, my greatest concern has always been making sure that people understand that the Department of Justice works in a way that is independent and looks at everybody equally," she said.

"And when you do something that gives people a reason to think differently, that's a problem. It was a problem for me," the attorney general added. "It was painful for me, and so I felt it was important to clarify it as quickly and as clearly and as cleanly as possible."

Watch Lynch's interview with Jake Tapper below:

Lorettya Lynch on the fallout over her meeting with Bill Clinton: "It was painful for me" #CNNSOTUhttps://t.co/w3ewyrtBNbpic.twitter.com/bZA9V0qzrC

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) December 18, 2016