Stunning revelation buried deep in IG report blows hole in Lynch-Clinton tarmac meeting narrative
Jul 1, 2018 6:46 pm
A stunning revelation buried deep inside Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s report on the FBI’s Hillary Clinton email investigation suggests the controversial June 2016 tarmac meeting between then Attorney General Loretta Lynch and former President Bill Clinton was coordinated.
If true, it blows a hole in the narrative Lynch and Clinton have maintained for two years. Lynch claimed the “social” meeting was spontaneous and the two discussed grandchildren.
The meeting was extremely controversial at the time because it came just days before then FBI Director James Comey announced the FBI would not recommend criminal charges against Clinton for using a private email server while secretary of state.
What does Horowitz’s report say?
The report states that the DOJ department of public affairs supervisor traveling with Lynch told internal DOJ investigators that Clinton’s Secret Service detail contacted Lynch’s security detail ahead of time to arrange the meeting.
Clinton’s plane was parked next to Lynch’s, the report revealed, or about just 20 to 30 yards away.
Clinton told investigators he only learned the plane next to his was Lynch’s after being briefed by his staff. He claimed he then debated whether or not he should “say hello” and “shake hands with the Attorney General.”
Page 203 of the report states:
The OPA Supervisor said that he later learned that former President Clinton’s Secret Service detail had contacted Lynch’s FBI security detail and let them know that the former President wanted to meet with Lynch. Although Lynch’s staff was supposed to receive notice of such requests, witnesses told us that they were not informed of the request from former President Clinton.
In addition, Lynch revealed to DOJ investigators she was not social with the Clintons and had never met with either one of them prior to the tarmac meetings.
What was the conversation about?
Both Clinton and Lynch denied discussing nefarious subjects, such as the DOJ’s Clinton investigation, known as “Midyear,” or any other matters involving the Clintons’ public life. They both maintained the conversation was lighthearted and personal.
The report goes on to detail that Lynch’s staff — who were waiting outside the plane in a staff van — felt “blindsided” and “shocked” that Lynch would meet with the former president.
Finally, it was Lynch’s senior counselor who broke up the meeting when she realized it would become extremely problematic if the media learned Lynch had just met with the husband of a subject in a major investigation. The senior counselor said she could not recall what she heard when she entered the plane but said Lynch appeared “uncomfortable and wanted the meeting to be done.”
According to the report, the meeting between Lynch and Clinton lasted about 20 minutes.
(H/T: Sharyl Attkinsson)
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