Pressure mounting on Lynch for special counsel on Hillary e-mails?

By Ed Morrissey
February 8, 2016

Will she or won’t she? That’s the question Loretta Lynch faces on the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s unauthorized homebrew e-mail server, on two levels. If the FBI brings her a recommendation for indictments, will she pursue the case? Or, will Lynch opt for a special counsel if that decision comes with too much political freight?

The Hill recaps the status quo, but also offers some interesting background for both scenarios. On one hand, Lynch and Hillary don’t have any personal ties, even though she owes her appointment as US Attorney to Hillary’s husband:

Lynch and Clinton never had much of a personal relationship, former colleagues told The Hill this week.

“I’m not aware of any relationship with Hillary Clinton,” said Steven Edwards, who worked alongside Lynch for nearly a decade at the law firm Hogan Lovells (the firm was previously called Hogan & Hartson when Lynch joined it in 2001).

Lynch was appointed to be the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York in 1999 by President Bill Clinton, Hillary’s husband.

However, she was personally recommended for the position by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), and one government official said Clinton himself had a relatively minor role in the selection process.​

Minor? Then-President Bill Clinton actually made the appointment. Perhaps Bill just acted as a rubber stamp for Schumer, but if so, that brings up another issue. Schumer and Hillary have a close personal and political relationship. In fact, Schumer was one of the first Democrats on the national stage to endorse Hillary’s presidential bid, stepping forward in November 2013 when Hillary needed to keep the field clear. That’s not to say that Lynch takes orders from Schumer, but if there is political pressure that could have an impact, then the circumstances of her appointment still could have something to do with it.

The other political pressure point might be Lynch’s current position. Julian Hattem points out that Lynch will only get about 18 months or so as Attorney General, thanks to a fight between Barack Obama and Senate Republicans after Eric Holder’s announced departure. A Hillary Clinton presidency offers an opportunity to extend her time at the top of the Department of Justice — an opportunity that would almost certainly not exist in a Republican administration:

Lynch was confirmed by the Senate last year, after a five-month delay largely unrelated to her own qualifications. That left the nation’s top lawyer with just a year and a half in office, during Obama’s lame duck period in which policy efforts are likely to stall.

If Clinton becomes the next president, however, Lynch may be asked to stay on, at least for a short time. As such, she may have a little bit of skin in the game.

“That Hillary Clinton could be the Democrat nominee and potential next president represents an extraordinary circumstance that commends the appointment of a special counsel,” said Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), the head of the House Oversight subcommittee on National Security, in a statement to The Hill. “For a Democrat-appointed attorney general such as Lynch, this is obviously something that distinguishes the Clinton investigation from other cases.”
​

The biggest political wildcard gets no mention, however, in Hattem’s review. FBI Director James Comey has perhaps the biggest card to play in this game.

(Excerpt)

Read more:
http://hotair.com/archives/2016/02/...lynch-for-special-counsel-on-hillary-e-mails/

Does anyone really believe that it will be Lynch's call to indict or not, or for that matter appoint a Special Counsel to further the investigation into the private server contains over 1,400 classified National Security documents? Undoubtedly there's a conflict of interest deeply seated in the Department of Justice. IMO, prior to Obama making this country a banana republic, there’d would have been no question that Lynch would have to step aside for independent prosecutor or in some other way recuse herself from the whole affair.

 

I think Loretta will instruct the FBI to leave Hillary alone.

 

You mean that Obama will order Lynch to "instruct the FBI to leave Hillary alone".

 

Grassley should call Lynch in front of the Judicial Committee ASAP......have a little chit chat with her, while letting her know. Should she play games....they are ready to Bring her into the light. Subpoena'D for Testimony before Congress. No Asking.

They should do this now.....ahead of time. So that Lynch knows there are eyes watching and set to go with the Press and MS Media. As all of this is a direct reflection on BO peeps Administration.

 

Does anyone remember how Democrats forced AG Alberto Gonzales to resign about the fictitious allegations regarding the firing of DOJ attorneys? They dragged his name through the mud on totally unfounded and false reasons. It was all political. Whereas there was sufficient reason to impeach Holder and now Lynch.

 

Well, ISSA and a few other Repubs have been sounding off with this last bit of info coming out on Hillary......Grassley did send letters to Lynch. So she can't say she don't know what the deal is.

She knows the same can happen to her with what happened to Gonzales.

 

Agreed!! Now to put pressure on her. Hmm...? I wonder if an AG could indict a previous AG for perjury before Congress under oath?

 

This might work......do you think that Others names coming out and sending Classified and receiving it on non secure private email accounts could up that pressure?


Dozens of Hillary's Top Aides Had Top Secret Info "Too Damaging to Release" on Private Email Accounts ......

Today, Fox News is out with an exclusive report showing Clinton shared classified information with at least a dozen aides, not just Abedin and Sullivan, that was not only top secret and classified, but so sensitive and damaging it cannot be released.

At least a dozen email accounts handled the “top secret” intelligence that was found on Hillary Clinton’s server and recently deemed too damaging for national security to release, a U.S. government official close to the review told Fox News.

The official said the accounts include not only Clinton’s but those of top aides – including Cheryl Mills, Huma Abedin, Jake Sullivan and Philippe Reines – as well as State Department Under Secretary for Management Patrick Kennedy and others.

A second source not authorized to speak on the record said the number of accounts involved could be as high as 30 and reflects how the intelligence was broadly shared, replied to, and copied to individuals using the unsecured server.

The State Department recently confirmed that the messages in question include the most sensitive kind of intelligence......snip~

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiep...ified-info-on-private-email-accounts-n2117631

 

Critics pounce on Lynch’s campaign donations