The Great Smoky Mountain Journal
Staff Reports
Posted: Sunday, January 21, 2018 11:21 AM
REPORTS: Loretta Lynch Used Alias "Elizabeth Carlisle" For Official Emails As Attorney General Including Those Relating To Tarmac Meeting With Former President Clinton
The emails were included in 413 pages of Justice Department documents provided to conservative watchdog groups Judicial Watch and American Center for Law and Justice.
Top federal officials using email aliases is not illegal or new, considering others in the former Obama administration also used them, arguing security concerns and spam to their official email addresses swamping their in-boxes.
Eric Holder, Lynch’s predecessor, used “Lew Alcindor,” the former name of retired NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
However, critics of the practice argue that such aliases can result in some requested emails to and from officials going undetected.
Lynch used the alias to help craft responses to media requests about the meeting, the documents show.
And former IRS official Lois Lerner, who was at the center of the agency’s targeting of conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status, also used an alias -- Toby Miles.
Internet sleuths say Elizabeth Carlisle is the birth name of Lynch’s maternal grandmother. But an actress who has done a number of sultry roles -- including “prostitute” and “tipsy” -- also has that name.
The Lynch documents were provided to the groups in connection with lawsuits seeking information about the June 27, 2016, meeting on the tarmac of a Phoenix airport.
The meeting came amid an FBI investigation into whether Clinton’s wife, then the Democratic presidential nominee, had revealed classified information when using private email servers while secretary of state.
About a week later, FBI Director James Comey concluded the case by saying Clinton was “extremely careless,” but recommended the Justice Department not pursue criminal charges.
In Senate testimony earlier this year, Comey said the meeting was a "deciding factor" in his decision to act alone to update the public on the investigation.
He also said Lynch had directed him to call the investigation “a matter,” which “confused” him.
The former president left his private plane and boarded Lynch’s uninvited. Lynch said in the aftermath that they talked about grandchildren and other matters, but that the investigation was not discussed.
However, Lynch later said she “regrets” having allowed the meeting.
Lynch’s attorney Robert Raben on Monday told The Daily Caller that Justice Department staffers who process Freedom of Information Act requests are aware of the alias.
He also said the agency acknowledged in February 2016 that Lynch was using the Elizabeth Carlisle alias.