WASHINGTON _ Republican lawmakers on Tuesday pushed Attorney General Loretta Lynch to defend the Justice Department's decision not to prosecute Hillary Clinton over her use of a private email server as secretary of state.
Lynch also faced tough questions over her decision to meet with former President Bill Clinton last month, which she has previously admitted cast a shadow over the Justice Department's probe.
But Lynch repeatedly refused to discuss the details of the email probe, saying only that she had accepted the unanimous recommendation of career agents and prosecutors, including FBI Director James Comey. She said it would be "inappropriate to comment further" on the specific facts of the case or the decision-making process.
Following the uproar over the meeting with Bill Clinton, Lynch removed herself from the final decision about whether to file charges, relying on the recommendation of Comey and career prosecutors.
But GOP lawmakers accused Lynch of failing to live up her constitutional duty by not personally analyzing the case.
"The buck stops with you," Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Ill.) said.
Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) said the decision against filing charges gave the appearance of a double standard in Clinton's favor because of her political power.
Lynch said all of those reviewing the case and making the recommendation were career agents and prosecutors, not political appointees.
The committee quickly divided along party lines in its questioning, with Republicans focusing on Clinton's email server and Democrats instead focusing on the Orlando, Fla., terror attack, the need for law enforcement reform highlighted by the recent police shootings of black men and strategies for repairing relationships with minority communities.
Comey, testifying last week before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, defended the agency's investigation into Clinton's email server and reiterated that a criminal case against the presumptive Democratic nominee would not hold up in court.
Comey stated there was "no basis to believe" Clinton lied to the FBI during its investigation and assured committee members there was no political motivation to the timing of Comey's announcement or the agency's decision to recommend charges not be filed.
Lynch was scheduled to testify before the House Judiciary Committee before Comey announced his decision. Her submitted testimony made no mention of the Clinton email controversy. She instead focused on the killings of five Dallas police officers by Micah Xavier Johnson, an Army veteran apparently angry over police shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota.
