The White House refused to say Thursday whether it approved of Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s private meeting with former president Bill Clinton at an airport, but insisted that she understands the need for the Justice Department’s probe of Hillary Clinton’s email system to be free of political meddling.
“I’ll let the attorney general speak to her meetings,” said White House press secretary Josh Earnest. “The bottom line is simply that both the president and the attorney general understand how important is for the Department of Justice to conduct investigations that are free of political interference.”
Asked repeatedly by reporters whether President Obama believes the meeting was improper or created the appearance of a conflict, Mr. Earnest would not comment directly.
“I did not attend the meeting,” Mr. Earnest said. “She’s spoken directly to how the meeting came about and what was discussed.”
Ms. Lynch and Mr. Clinton met privately at a Phoenix airport earlier this week — even as the FBI continues its investigation into Mrs. Clinton’s use of a private email server as secretary of state. The attorney general said they spoke primarily about their families, golf and travel.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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