Bob Goodlatte statement on Loretta Lynch House testimony

Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, today issued the following statement on Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s refusal to answer basic legal questions about the investigation of Secretary Hillary Clinton’s mishandling of classified information on private email servers:

“It’s clear that, a little over an hour into today’s hearing, Attorney General Lynch has no intention of answering any of our questions regarding the Department’s decision not to charge former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, even the most basic questions about the legal elements the government is obligated to prove in a criminal prosecution. Instead of providing the Judiciary Committee with the candor provided to Congress last Thursday by FBI Director Comey, Attorney General Lynch instead is dodging any responsibility to be forthright to Congress by referring members to the statements of her subordinate. If Attorney General Lynch doesn’t want to answer questions about the investigation, then she should have appointed a special prosecutor at the start of the investigation. Instead, she never even sought to recuse herself, despite the fact that Secretary Clinton is the wife of her former boss, President Bill Clinton. It’s equally troubling that she met privately with former President Clinton just days before FBI Director Comey announced that he does not recommend criminal charges be filed against Secretary Clinton. The American people deserve transparency about this investigation.”