“Attorney General Lynch instructed James Comey to call the investigation into Hillary Clinton a ‘MATTER’ and not an investigation.”
That’s a lot more of a veiled request to lay off of her than saying Trump came close to saying about Flynn.
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I would call that a direct order...and Lynch explicitly gave it twice in the same conversation.
Comey said he was troubled by it because her directive to him aligned DOJ wording with Clinton campaign wording, and he knew it was a “criminal investigation” and not “a matter”
Nevertheless, he followed her directive because he didn’t consider the wording to be “a hill to die on. “
He further justified his obedience to Lynch by the end results (can’t recall his exact words)...but essentially-—turned out to be no big deal.
I would call him a coward, but his “cowardice” always seems to advantage one particular team.
Now we know why Comey came out and gave his press conference clearing Hillary when that’s something only the Justice Department can actually do - he was providing cover to Lynch. Had she made the announcement it would have looked really bad given that she had just had a secret meeting with Bill Clinton.