Lynch repeatedly deflects questions on Clinton email case

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s appearance before the House Judiciary Committee (all times local):

10:45 a.m.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch is repeatedly deflecting questions about the conclusion of the Justice Department’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server.

Despite repeated prodding from Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee, Lynch said that as attorney general it would be inappropriate for her to comment on specifics of the investigation.

She also referred questions to FBI Director James Comey, who last week recommended against prosecution for Clinton and her aides in laying out the findings of federal investigators.

Lynch accepted the recommendation from the FBI and from her prosecutors, and closed out the investigation without charges. She said that the team reviewed the facts and arrived at a unanimous recommendation that she was pleased to follow.

10:30 a.m.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch says building trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve has never been more difficult or important.

Lynch is testifying Tuesday before the House Judiciary Committee following a week of violence that brought that issue to the forefront.

She says a series of deadly shootings, including a deadly sniper attack on five officers in Dallas, “rocked” the country.

Lynch says the Justice Department will continue to work with state and local law enforcement agencies to provide funding and technical support for programs like body-worn cameras and de-escalation training.

10:06 a.m.

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee is questioning the Justice Department’s decision not to prosecute Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server.

Rep. Bob Goodlatte, a Virginia Republican, says in his opening statement for Tuesday’s hearing that the decision “defies logic and the law.”

He says he believes less-powerful government workers would not have received the same treatment.

Lynch is making her first appearance before Congress since the Justice Department closed its investigation without bringing criminal charges.

Goodlatte also says the timing of the Justice Department’s announcement is “troubling” given that it came just days after Lynch had an impromptu meeting aboard her plane on a tarmac in Phoenix with former president Bill Clinton.