Episode 3.3: No Easy Answers: A Conversation with Former Attorney General Loretta Lynch

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN.  For two years, LORETTA LYNCH held one of the most powerful and most complicated jobs in the United State government. As Attorney General under Barack Obama, she managed an agency that comprises a network of U.S. Attorneys, the FBI, The Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Executive Office for Immigration Review, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and much else. In her discussion with political scientist Matthew Berkman, she highlights both the clear policy priorities she brought to the job, including fighting human trafficking and promoting prisoner reentry, and the many balancing acts that the role requires. The discussion ranges to current issues and controversies – including drug legalization, criminal justice reform, right-wing extremism, “entrapment,” the release of classified documents, and the performance of her successors William Barr and Merrick Garland – with AG Lynch providing detailed and nuanced analysis of each topic.