Former AG Lynch Used Alias for Emails About Controversial Clinton Meeting

Attorney General Loretta Lynch, left, with FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, speaks during a news conference, Wednesday, July 20, 2016, at the Justice Department in Washington, announcing that the U.S. government is seeking the forfeiture of more than $1 billion in assets that federal officials say were misappropriated from a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

Former Attorney General Loretta Lynch used an alias for official emails as attorney general, including emails about her controversial meeting with former President Bill Clinton aboard her Justice Department jet as it was parked on the tarmac in Phoenix.

Watchdog groups Judicial Watch and American Center for Law and Justice obtained 413 pages of Justice Department documents through a request made under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Among the documents were emails that revealed Lynch used the alias “Elizabeth Carlisle.”  

Lynch is not the first senior federal official to use an email alias, a practice that was seen elsewhere in the Obama administration due to spam and security concerns, said officials defending the practice.

Vice News obtained documents from the Department of Justice in February 2016 that revealed Lynch’s predecessor, Eric Holder, used the alias “Lew Alcindor.” That is the former name of retired NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images