Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) refuted Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s claim that she had deferred to the FBI’s recommendation over whether to prosecute Hillary Clinton for mis-handling classified information because she wanted to prevent any public perception of unfairness.
The Attorney General was testifying Tuesday before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. Last week, she accepted the recommendation of FBI director James Comey not to prosecute Clinton.
On Jun. 28, a week before Comey’s announcement, she had met with former president Bill Clinton aboard her airplane on the tarmac at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport — a meeting that she later acknowledged had created the perception of an “improper” relationship. She declined, however to recuse herself, saying only that she would follow the FBI’s recommendation on the case.
On Tuesday, testifying under oath, Lynch claimed that she had made the decision to defer to the FBI even before the meeting with Clinton.
Jordan disputed that and accused her of double standards:
Lynch: My concern was that the conversation that I had with President Clinton would be seen by some as having an influence over that. I felt it was important to clarify my role —
Jordan: Not just some. A lot of people.
Lynch: — and I felt it was important to clarify that even before I had landed in Phoenix, I had made a decision. I felt it was important that people hear that from me.
Jordan: Here’s what i think. I think your actions made it worse. I really do. I think a lot of people already think that there are two systems, as many have talked about: one for we, the people, a different one, a entirely different one for the politically connected. You’re a former secretary of state, former senator, nominee for president, your husband meets with the — meets with you, five days before the decision is announced. A different standard for those facts. And you proved it.You demonstrated that it’s different by your actions because you said you’ve never done this before, so you not only — you changed your internal practices. You changed the fact that you’ve never announced beforehand that you’re going to follow recommendations before you even have the recommendations. You contribute — your actions contribute to this belief that the system is rigged and that — you made a bad situation worse by saying “I’m going to do whatever they recommend, even though I don’t know what the recommendations are. “I don’t know anyone who would conduct themselves that way when they are the ultimate decider. But you said, “I’m going to wait, I’m going to do whatever they way, I’m not going to wait to see what they’re recommending, I’m going to follow it.” You showed that this case was different. And the law is supposed to treat every single person the same. And your announcement, by definition, made this thing entirely different. And then of course, what was ultimately decided made it entirely different as well.
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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