Politics
Hannity/Fox News
Donald Trump.
News emerged on Wednesday that Lynch and the former president had met on an airplane parked on the tarmac at an airport in Phoenix after the two had crossed paths.
Lynch acknowledged the 30-minute encounter to reporters, but said the two mainly discussed his grandchildren and golf, not the Department of Justice's ongoing probe into Hillary Clinton's email usage.
"It is an amazing thing," Trump said on the Mike Gallagher Show. "And it was really a sneak. It was really something they didn't want publicized as far as I understand."
"I think it's so terrible. I think it's so horrible. I think it's the biggest story, one of the big stories of this week, of this month, of this year."
"Even in terms of judgment, how bad a judgment is it for him or for her to do this? I mean, who would do this?" Trump said.
The presumptive Republican nominee offered similar criticism of the meeting during an appearance on Fox News' "Hannity" Thursday evening.
"When I first heard that yesterday afternoon, I actually thought they were joking," Trump said. "I'm flabbergasted by it."
Reuters
Members of the press peppered White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest with questions about the optics of the meeting on Thursday.
Republican and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn suggested on Twitter that the meeting constituted a conflict of interest for Lynch.
Lynch & Clinton: Conflict of interest? An attorney,cannot represent two parties in a dispute and must avoid even the appearance of conflict.
- JohnCornyn (@JohnCornyn) June 30, 2016Meanwhile, Democrats are largely defending Lynch, although at least one offered criticism of the meeting.
"It doesn't send the right signal," Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat, said on CNN. "I think she should have steered clear, even of a brief, casual social meeting with the former president."
Coons later walked back his remarks, however, saying in a statement that he "has worked with her and believes that she is honest and trustworthy."