Former Attorney General Lynch Concerned for 'Divided' Country

Former Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch ’81 reflected on her nearly two years leading the U.S. Department of Justice at the Institute of Politics Friday, urging her successors to put the interests of the American people before partisan or personal preoccupations.

Lynch replaced Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. in April 2015 after being nominated by then-President Barack Obama in 2014. In November 2016, President Donald Trump nominated Senator Jeff Sessions to the position; he succeeded Lynch in February.

Speaking at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum, Lynch expressed concerns about the political discourse in America and admonished today’s political leaders.

“It has become extremely hard for us to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes, because the examples of leadership we are seeing today are not doing that either,” Lynch said. “We’re in a situation now where not only are we not able to talk to each other, but the country is very divided.”

Lynch’s discussion was wide-ranging.

At one point, Lynch addressed an incident over the summer when she met with former President Bill Clinton during the 2016 presidential campaign. Lynch came under fire for the meeting, with critics arguing that she should not have met with the husband of president candidate Hillary Clinton, whom was under Department of Justice investigation. Lynch called the meeting with Bill Clinton a “very public mistake.”

At other times during her appearance at the IOP, Lynch took a more personal tone, discussing her own experience as a lawyer and imparting wisdom other entering the legal profession.

“I actually helped a woman obtain a divorce… and she was the happiest client I ever had,” Lynch said to laughter from the audience.

Lynch also spoke about her time as an undergraduate at Harvard. Lynch attended the College and graduated from the Law School in 1984.

“What I would say to the students here is to try a variety of things as well… there are so many things to explore that you might not have thought you would be interested in.”

—Staff writer Lucas Ward can be reached at lucas.ward@thecrimson.com. Follow him on twitter at @LucaspfWard.