Loretta Lynch Says She Regrets Phoenix Tarmac Meeting With Bill Clinton

Attorney General Loretta Lynch speaks at 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. The Justice Department says the funds that were laundered into the U.S. were used for various assets, including real estate and hotel properties, a jet aircraft, fancy artwork and the production of the Oscar-nominated movie, The Wolf of Wall Street. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

Attorney General Loretta Lynch said she regrets speaking with former President Bill Clinton in a now-infamous, impromptu tarmac meeting in Arizona earlier this year.

Lynch held the meeting with Clinton right before the Department of Justice concluded its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.

“I do regret sitting down and having a conversation with him because it did give people concern,” Lynch told CNN on its “State of the Union” show Sunday. “My greatest concern has always been making sure that people understand that the Department of Justice works in a way that is independent and looks at everybody equally.”

The two met for about 30 minutes at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on June 27, which triggered concern and speculation from Republican officials, who urged her to recuse herself in the investigation.

According to the New York Observer, the publication owned by Donald Trump’s son in law Jared Kushner, a security source said Clinton delayed his plane’s takeoff to get a meeting with Lynch.

Former President Bill Clinton, left, and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, of New York state's Electoral College cast their ballots for Hillary Clinton in the Senate chambers of the Capitol in Albany, N.Y., Monday, Dec. 19, 2016. AP Photo/Hans Pennink, Pool