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Loretta Lynch stonewalls Congress on Clinton email probe details

WASHINGTON — Attorney General Loretta Lynch stonewalled Congress on Tuesday on the details of the Hillary Clinton email case, refusing to get into the specifics of her decision not to prosecute the former secretary of state for mishandling classified material.

“While I understand that this investigation has generated significant public interest, as attorney general, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further on the underlying facts of the investigation or the legal basis for the team’s recommendation,” Lynch told the House Judiciary Committee.

The chairman of the committee, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), said Lynch’s decision “defies logic and the law,” especially after FBI Director James Comey found Clinton was extremely careless with classified material on her private email server.

Goodlatte said the FBI’s conclusion “leaves many more questions than answers.”

Lynch repeatedly declined to answer Goodlatte’s questions on the specifics of Clinton’s email arrangement and classified material. “Again, I would have to refer you to Director Comey’s statements,” she said over and over.

The year-long FBI investigation found Clinton sent and received classified material on her private email server and failed to turn over all her work email to the department.

But Comey couldn’t find evidence that Clinton intentionally tried to skirt the law. He concluded that “no reasonable prosecutor” would charge Clinton.

Lynch previously announced she’d accept the recommendations of Comey and the legal investigators after her credibility was hurt by meeting privately with former President Bill Clinton while the investigation was pending.

She closed the case last week.

Republicans believe Hillary Clinton got a pass because she’s the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, whereas a low-level federal worker would be put in handcuffs.

“You have a burden, I think, to convince to the American public that you don’t have a double standard. You are not meeting the burden,” said Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.).

“Every case stands on its own separate facts and application of those facts to the law,” Lynch responded. “I can tell you … that all the relevant facts were considered and investigated thoroughly and reviewed by the entire team. … Their recommendation was that the matter be resolved in the way that it was recommended.”