Lynch repeatedly deflects questions on Clinton email case

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) asked Lynch during her testimony before the House Judiciary Committee.

Goodlatte and House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, on Monday asked the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia to investigate whether Hillary Clinton lied to Congress in testimony about her email.

AG Lynch: Congressman, I refer you to my statement you just commented on, with respect to…

Before officially closing the investigation, Lynch had come under fire for meeting with Clinton’s husband, former President Bill Clinton, when their planes were at the same airport. By placing classified information on her unsecure personal email server Clinton made classified information possibly available to America’s enemies.

Gowdy also asked why the Justice Department could not prosecute Clinton for “gross negligence”, part of the law’s standard. “I saw no reason not to accept it”, Lynch said.

Three out of ten Democrats think Hillary Clinton should face criminal charges in connection with her handling of government emails during her tenure as Secretary of State.

While Lynch refused to answer Gohmert’s questions on the grounds that she wouldn’t discuss details of her decision regarding the Clinton case, Gohmert repeatedly pointed out that he was simply asking her for clarification on the law, not the Clinton case. “We have held, of course, zero hearings on gun violence; we have passed no bills to address the issue”.

Rep. John Conyers, (D-Mich.) chastised GOP lawmakers for zeroing in on Clinton instead of “gun violence and civil rights”. “If any of my colleagues are not yet convinced it is because they don’t want to be convinced”. The attack began during protests over the police killings of Philando Castile, who was fatally shot near St. Paul, Minnesota, and Alton Sterling, who was shot in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after being pinned to the pavement by two white officers.

“As we gather here this morning, that sense of safety has been shaken by the series of devastating events that rocked our nation last week”, Lynch said in prepared remarks. “I, as attorney general, am not able to provide any further comment on the facts or the substance of the investigation”.

Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has extended her lead over Republican rival Donald Trump to 13 percentage points in a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll, up from 10 points at the end of last week.

James Comey, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said last week that Clinton and her staff were “extremely careless” with sensitive information but recommended that the government not seek criminal charges against her. She said it was an unscheduled encounter and the two did not discuss the Hillary Clinton email investigation, but Lynch also expressed regret and acknowledged the meeting had “cast a shadow” on the public perception of the Justice Department’s independence.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch accepted the recommendation of Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey not to bring charges against Hillary Clinton for how she handled emails at the State Department-it’s case closed!

Attorney General Loretta Lynch is sworn-in on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 12, 2016, prior to testifying before the House Judiciary Committee hearing.