Congressman Bob Goodlatte’s Weekly Column: July 15, 2016
Administration Official Stonewalls Justice | By Congressman Bob Goodlatte
|
Washington, DC (July 15, 2016) - It took less than an hour for it to become clear that Attorney General Loretta Lynch had no intention of answering any of my questions, and those of other House Judiciary Committee members, regarding the Justice Department’s decision not to file criminal charges against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Simple questions about whether it is legal or illegal to share classified information with a person who does not have a security clearance went unanswered. Not even the most basic legal questions about the investigation of Secretary Clinton’s mishandling of classified information on private email servers merited a response from Attorney General Lynch.
The Judiciary Committee’s hearing on oversight of the Justice Department turned into a game of political dodgeball, with the Attorney General stonewalling at every turn. In doing so, Attorney General Lynch dodged her responsibility as chief law enforcement officer of the United States to be forthright with Congress. If she did not want to answer questions about the investigation, then she should have appointed a special prosecutor at the very start. 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 President Clinton on the tarmac of the Phoenix airport just days before FBI Director Comey announced that he did not recommend criminal charges be filed against Secretary Clinton. None of this sits right.
Attorney General Lynch’s stonewalling is not the only thing creating new questions for Congress. The evidence collected by the FBI during its investigation of Secretary Clinton appears to directly contradict several aspects of her sworn testimony before Congress. Secretary Clinton stated repeatedly under oath that no classified information was contained within her private email system. This was not true. Secretary Clinton stated repeatedly under oath that no information in her emails was marked classified. This was not true. Secretary Clinton said under oath that all relevant emails were returned to the State Department. This was not true. These contradictions raise many concerns, and a few days ago, I formally requested an investigation into whether Secretary Clinton committed perjury and made false statements when testifying under oath before Congress.
Attorney General Lynch’s failure to be forthcoming with Congress does little to quell our questions about the FBI’s Clinton investigation. I want answers from those entrusted with securing justice. And you, the American people, deserve transparency about this investigation. There should not be a different set of rules for the well-known or politically influential. The institutions that have sustained our country for the last 240 years must deliver fair, impartial justice to victims of crime, and punish the guilty. That is what is at stake in this investigation. | | | | | |
|
