Story highlights The meeting would eventually cast doubt on the Justice Department's impartiality in the matter

Lynch insists that there was nothing inappropriate about her time with Clinton

Washington (CNN) Attorney General Loretta Lynch says she regrets not recognizing that her meeting with Bill Clinton over the summer would turn out to be problematic, saying it was "painful" that it called into question the integrity of the Justice Department.

The meeting -- coming right before the FBI was set to announce the findings of its investigation into Hillary Clinton's private email server -- would eventually cast doubt on the Justice Department's impartiality in the matter, as the FBI is an agency of the DOJ.

"I do regret sitting down and having a conversation with him, because it did give people concern," she told CNN's Jake Tapper in an interview that aired Sunday on "State of the Union." "And as I said, my greatest concern has always been making sure that people understand that the Department of Justice works in a way that is independent and looks at everybody equally."

"And when you do something that gives people a reason to think differently, that's a problem," Lynch added. "It was a problem for me. It was painful for me, and so I felt it was important to clarify it as quickly and as clearly and as cleanly as possible."

Meeting with Bill Clinton

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