Former Attorney General Loretta Lynch said she never told former FBI Director James Comey to call the probe into Hillary Clinton’s email server a "matter" instead of an "investigation."
Her comments came in testimony before the House Oversight and Judiciary committees in December last year. A transcript of her testimony was released Monday by Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., and detailed in a report by The Daily Caller.
Asked specifically if she instructed Comey to call it a "matter," she replied: "I did not.
"I have never instructed a witness as to what to say specifically," she said. "Never have, never will. In the meeting that I had with the director, we were discussing how best to keep Congress informed of progress and discuss requesting resources for the department overall."
She added: "I didn't direct anyone to use specific phraseology. When the director asked me how to best to handle that, I said: 'What I have been saying is we have received a referral and we are working on the matter, working on the issue, or we have all the resources we need to handle the matter, handle the issue. So, that was the suggestion that I made to him.'
The New York Times noted Comey had told the Senate Intelligence Committee in June 2017: "The attorney general had directed me not to call it an 'investigation,' but instead to call it a 'matter,' which confused me and concerned me."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.