Loretta Lynch and Bill Clinton. (Images via Flickr / CC 2.0)

It was probably an awkward conversation, at the very least: Earlier this week, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch engaged in a brief chat with Bill Clinton on the tarmac at the Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix. “[Clinton talked] about his grandchildren and his travels and things like that,” Lynch said of the chance encounter, but this was not enough to stifle accusations of a lack of FBI independence.

The conflict stems from the fact that the FBI investigation of Hillary Clinton and her emails are under Lynch’s jurisdiction.

Lynch was quick to offer a mild apology for her lapse in judgment, saying it was “perfectly reasonable” for people to question the meeting and she “certainly wouldn’t do it again.” ABC News reports:

“Certainly, my meeting with him raises questions and concerns,” Lynch acknowledged today. “It has now cast a shadow over how this case may be perceived, no matter how it’s resolved. … [But] it’s important to make it clear that that meeting with President Clinton does not have a bearing on how this matter is going to be reviewed, resolved and accepted by me.”

Perhaps as a result of the media uproar that ensued after the conversation, Lynch was also quick to address the FBI investigation, explaining that she would accept the forthcoming recommendations of the FBI regarding Clinton’s emails. “The recommendations will be reviewed by career supervisors in the Department of Justice and in the FBI, and by the FBI director, and then as is the common process, they present it to me and I fully expect to accept their recommendations,” she said on Friday.

Despite Lynch’s efforts to assure the media, many were quick to attack and question the meeting, including Clinton’s top opponent:

Some Democratic politicians also questioned Lynch’s judgment. “I do think that this meeting sends the wrong signal,” said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del. But others were quick to stand up for Lynch. “No one can ever question [Lynch’s] strong feelings about the rule of the law,” said Harry Reid, Senate minority leader, D-Nev. “And her ethics, I repeat, are the best.”

—Posted by Emma Niles

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#2016 election#attorney general#bill clinton#clinton emails#email#fbi#hillary clinton#loretta lynch#national#politics#usa