Under bipartisan fire following a private meeting with former President Clinton even as her Justice Department investigates Hillary Clinton over her secret email server, Attorney General Loretta Lynch will announce on Friday that she will defer to non-political subordinates on whether to bring charges against the likely Democratic presidential nominee.
The Justice Department had been planning on such a course for months, The New York Times reported, but reports that Lynch met with the former president on her government plane at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport have sealed the decision. Although Lynch claims the two discussed golf and grandchildren, legal watchdogs have called the meeting highly improper and called for the Department of Justice’s Inspector General to investigate.
“Determinations as to whether to charge any individual, as well as the findings of the investigation, will be made by career prosecutors and investigators who have been handling this matter since its inception,” a Justice Department official told Fox News.
A Justice Department source said Lynch will accept the determinations and findings of non-political appointees as well as FBI investigators and FBI Director James Comey. It is up to the FBI to recommend to prosecutors whether to bring charges, but no set timetable has been announced.
A law enforcement source close to the investigation tells Fox News the probe into Clinton's email practices is ongoing but that investigators are "very close" to reaching a determination.
Critics, including Republicans and some Democrats, said the meeting compromised the independence of the ongoing FBI investigation. Lynch plans to announce her plan at a conference in Aspen, Colo.
Film at 11... 😟
Didn't see that coming... 😟
DrafterX wrote:
