Lorettya Lynch on the fallout over her meeting with Bill Clinton: "It was painful for me" #CNNSOTU https://t.co/w3ewyrtBNb pic.twitter.com/bZA9V0qzrC
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) December 18, 2016
Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Sunday that the fallout from her tarmac meeting with former President Bill Clinton was “painful” for her.
“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,” Lynch said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“And when you do something that gives people a reason to think differently, that’s a problem. It was a problem for me. 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.”
{mosads}Some have criticized the meeting, which came as the FBI was investigating Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server while serving as secretary of State.
Lynch rejected the idea that FBI Director James Comey made unprecedented decisions in an effort to combat allegations that the Justice Department was biased in favor Clinton.
The Clinton campaign has cited Comey’s decision to send a letter to Congress just days before the election about newly discovered emails as one of the reasons she lost.