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Straight Talk From Loretta Lynch

July 13, 2016

Attorney General Loretta Lynch gave ‘straight talk’ Tuesday on Capitol Hill.

Lynch appeared before the House Judiciary Committee to testify on the Justice Department’s recent decision not to charge former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for mishandling classified material with her private email server. For several hours, Lynch answered questions from members of the committee.

Republicans focused on the FBI investigation of Clinton’s emails and the private meeting between Lynch and former President Bill Clinton while the investigation was still ongoing. Democrats used their time to criticize their Republican colleagues and to ask Lynch about the issues of police brutality, guns, and racism.

During her testimony, Lynch was unable to provide members of the committee answers to their questions. Many times, Lynch would refer the lawmakers to FBI Director James Comey’s statements on his agency’s investigation. Other times, Lynch admitted she was unable to provide an answer or would not provide a comment.

Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R., Va) asked Lynch if she agreed with Comey’s statement that Clinton received information marked classified on her server. Lynch did not offer an answer and instead referred to what Comey had said.

"You know, Director Comey has chosen to provide great detail into the basis of his recommendations that were ultimately provided to me," Lynch said. "He’s chosen to provide detailed statements, and I would refer you to those statements. I, as attorney general, am not able to provide any further comment on facts or the substance of the investigation."

Later on in the hearing, a few members of Congress became frustrated with Lynch’s lack of answers. One committee member became so frustrated with Lynch’s constant deflection that he admitted to Lynch he "missed" former Attorney General Eric Holder.

In 2012, Congress voted to hold Holder in contempt of Congress for his failure to turn over documents and information related to an ongoing federal probe.