Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced Wednesday afternoon that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will not face criminal charges in relation to her mishandling of classified information on her secret, private e-mail server.
In a statement, Lynch said:
Late this afternoon, I met with FBI Director James Comey and career prosecutors and agents who conducted the investigation of Secretary Hillary Clinton’s use of a personal email system during her time as Secretary of State. I received and accepted their unanimous recommendation that the thorough, year-long investigation be closed and that no charges be brought against any individuals within the scope of the investigation.
Last Tuesday, Lynch met secretly with President Bill Clinton on her government airplane at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport. She later claimed that they had only discussed personal matters, though she admitted that the meeting created the appearance of impropriety. As a result, she said, she would defer to the FBI in deciding whether or not to prosecute.
A week later, FBI director James Comey announced that while the bureau had found evidence of “extremely careless” handling of classified information, he would not recommend she be prosecuted because of a lack of evidence of “intent” — though intent is not an element of the crime under the relevant federal statute.
That same day, Clinton and President Barack Obama flew together on Air Force One to Charlotte, North Carolina to address their first joint campaign rally of the 2016 presidential election. The joint appearance had been announced late last week.
Comey will testify before the House on Thursday, and Lynch will appear next week.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. His new book, See No Evil: 19 Hard Truths the Left Can’t Handle, will be published by Regnery on July 25 and is available for pre-order through Amazon. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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