Judicial Watch Sues DOJ for Records Relating To Tarmac Meeting between then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch and former President Bill Clinton in June 2016

(Washington DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Department of Justice for records related to the meeting held between then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch and former President Bill Clinton at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in 2016 (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:17-cv-00421)).

Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit after the agency failed to respond to a June 29, 2016, FOIA request seeking:

• All records and/or transcripts of a meeting held between Attorney General Loretta Lynch and former President Bill Clinton in June 2016.
• All records of communication sent to or from officials in the Office of the Attorney General regarding the meeting held between Attorney General Loretta Lynch and former President Bill Clinton in June 2016.
• All records of communication sent to or from officials in the Office of the Deputy Attorney General regarding the meeting held between Attorney General Loretta Lynch and former President Bill Clinton in June 2016.
• All references to the meeting held between Attorney General Loretta Lynch and former President Bill Clinton contained in day planners, calendars and schedules in the Office of the Attorney General.

Lynch met privately with former President Bill Clinton on board a parked plane. The meeting occurred during the then-ongoing investigation of Mrs. Clinton’s email server, and only a few days before she was interview by the FBI.  Lynch later admitted that the meeting with Bill Clinton “cast a cloud” over the Justice Department/FBI investigation.  Not long afterward, FBI Director James Comey called Hillary Clinton’s actions “extremely careless” but did not recommend charges.

“The infamous tarmac meeting between President Clinton and AG Lynch is a vivid example of why many Americans believe the Obama administration’s criminal investigation into Hillary Clinton was rigged,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “Now it will be up to Attorney General Sessions at the Trump Justice Department to finally shed some light on this subversion of justice.”

Judicial Watch requested the Justice Inspector General investigate the tarmac meeting.

In October, Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit seeking FBI “302” documents, which are reports of FBI investigation interviews, from the FBI’s investigation into former Hillary Clinton’s email practices, related communications, and records regarding the June 2016, meeting between Lynch and former President Clinton.  Documents in response this lawsuit are being regularly posted on the FBI website here (https://vault.fbi.gov/hillary-r.-clinton).

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