White House refuses to say Lynch, Clinton meeting was a mistake

The top White House spokesman on Friday refused to criticize Attorney General Loretta Lynch for meeting privately with President Clinton this week, even though Lynch herself admitted the meeting "cast a shadow" over the ongoing investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of private email while she was secretary of state.

"I'm not going to second guess or offer my own backseat driving here," Josh Earnest said when asked if Lynch exercised poor judgment in meeting with Bill Clinton, at his request, on the tarmac of the Phoenix airport. "I'll let the attorney general speak to her schedule and to her handling of the significant responsibilities she has."

Earnest dodged a few more times, and at one point answered by offering a litany of Lynch's professional accomplishments.

"I think when it comes to judgment, I think there is no quarreling with the 30-year history that Loretta Lynch has established as a highly competent, highly successful federal prosecutor," he said.

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