In an exclusive report in the New York Observer (which is owned by Donald Trump’s son in law), an anonymous source, who claims to have been present and involved in the airport meeting between Bill Clinton and Loretta Lynch, lays out how it went down.  In sum, Bill Clinton is the one who took the initiative and could not have been stopped as he strode up the stairs to Lynch’s executive jet.  The source checks out as a member of one of the agencies involved in security at the incident, according to the Observer.

Ken Kerson writes:

… it seems from this source that it was Bill Clinton who was maneuvering for face time with the attorney general, because his plane had been scheduled to leave before hers arrived. (snip)

According to the source, the FBI agents protecting Lynch “knew former POTUS was in town and another executive was coming and knew Lynch was coming so we knew there’d be congestion. We were waiting for her plane to touch down at the executive terminal area of Phoenix’s Sky Harbor where it’s best suited to control. Clinton’s plane was on the ground already. But he wasn’t there. We had been hoping to get him out before she arrived, just to avoid too much traffic. They [their planes] were 75 yards apart. We have a procedure we do to clear [space for] a motorcade. As we were ready to receive her, I saw the other motorcade coming in—we were like, ‘great timing.’ ”

Yes, it is an amazing coincidence that just as Lynch was arriving, Bill Clinton just happened to be coming to the airport to leave after his “golf trip” (in 108-degree Phoenix summer weather – and he has had heart bypass surgery!). 

Also amazing: Clinton’s motorcade took an unreasonably long time to arrive at the ramp, allowing Lynch’s plane to land and taxi up, so Clinton could ambush her:

The source was being sarcastic in saying “great timing,” indicating that it would have been better logistically for Clinton’s plane to take off before Lynch’s arrived, to avoid the congestion of two motorcades on the tarmac at once. The source indicated that Clinton’s people at the airport didn’t know what was taking Clinton’s motorcade so long to arrive and speculated that the delay was engineered specifically so that Clinton would not have left before Lynch arrived.

Then I see Clinton walking over. His detail guys ran over to hers and said he’s coming. ‘He’s closing.’ He walked straight there to the Air Force guy at the door and next thing I know he’s going up the steps [of her plane].” Asked about the Air Force detail, the source later clarified to the Observer that “There was an Air Force airman at the base of the stairs of the [Lynch] aircraft, as you always see on TV with POTUS.”

According to the source, “Nobody knew this was coming. We just knew to be aware there were other events going on. There was no planned meeting. It was just chance contact. The fact is, he just started walking over. I don’t think it was pre-arranged. He just started walking over and [even her security] can’t tell him, ‘you can’t do that.’ He walked in her plane for at least 20 to 25 minutes and the FBI is standing face to face with the Secret Service and just chatting on the hot tarmac like, ‘what the hell.’ ”

So, if this source is to be believed, Lynch was caught by surprise on arrival and forced to deal with an ex-president (and subject of investigation) at her door, as her plane taxied to a halt.

The source reports there was dismay among Lynch’s staff afterward:

I don’t agree with her politics and all that, but I knew from the beginning that she got caught off guard and her staff was already talking about it that it’s going to be a political problem for her. Her staff was flipping out. We didn’t think about the political part until we saw her staff flipping out. For the security guys, it was more of a ‘I’ve got armed guys coming into my perimeter’ problem. But the staff guys saw right away that it was a political problem. After Clinton got off, they were like, ‘that wasn’t good.’ And I know from others who were in the actual car with her that her people knew immediately the political ramifications of it and were very upset.

The net result of this report is that we are supposed to feel sorry for Lynch, who did not plan or expect the meeting and in a lapse of judgment did not tell the former president to buzz off, as she should have, telling Clinton that as an officer of the court and head of an investigation she is not allowed to have ex parte communications with any parties involved in an active case.

Maybe that is how it all went down.  Clearly, Lynch is paying a reputational price.  But her story about what is to happen next has changed, from a claim she will pass on whatever the FBI recommends to the position that her (political appointee) direct subordinates will review whatever the FBI sends to her and make the appropriate decision.

Pardon my skepticism, but I don’t trust the claim that nothing was spoken about the case.  It looks as though Bill urgently wanted to say something in private to the person who could save or ruin his wife’s presidential aspirations.