Eric Holder: A Rebuke Of Bush-League Justice
Eric Holder: A Rebuke Of Bush-League Justice
The New York Times reports today that President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team “signaled to Eric H. Holder Jr., a senior official in the Justice Department in the Clinton administration, that he will be chosen as attorney general.” While the Obama transition team denied that Holder has been selected, many progressives see Holder as a strong rebuke of the Bush Justice Department.
Glenn Greenwald — a consistent and vocal critic of the Bush Justice Department — writes that Holder’s views seem “rather unconstrained for Washington, suggestive of actual passion and conviction on these matters.” Digby writes similarly, “If [Holder] follows through…it would be good news.”
ThinkProgress has compiled Holder’s stated views on critical issues confronting the next Attorney General, including the Bush administration’s politicization of the Justice Department and the War on Terror:
On Role Of Attorney General: “The attorney general is the one Cabinet member who’s different from all the rest. The attorney general serves first the people, but also serves the president. There has to be a closeness at the same time there needs to be distance.” [National Journal, 3/3/06]
On Torture: “The notion that the Department of Justice would in essence sanction the use of torture as part of the President’s plenary power over military operations is as wrong as it is shortsighted. This position flies in the face of the entire history of American law, helping to create a climate in which unnecessarily abusive conduct can somehow be considered legitimate.” [Remarks to ACS Conference, 6/19/04]
“We must declare without qualification that it is the law, policy, and practice of the United States government that we do not torture people and we do not subject people to cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment.” [ACS Conference, 6/14/08]
On Closing Guantanamo: “Guantanamo Bay is an international embarassment. Some of our closest allies see this prison as a symbol of what America has become. We should close Guantanamo Bay, transfer the remaining prisoners to military prisons in the United States.” [ACS Conference, 6/14/08]
On Extraordinary Rendition: “We must end all U.S. government practice and programs, covert or otherwise, that transfer individuals involuntarily to other countries that are known to engage in torture.” [ACS Conference, 6/14/08]
On Indefinite Detentions Of Non-U.S. Citizen Terror Suspects: “It seems to me you can think of these people as combatants and we are in the middle of a war, and it seems to me that you could probably say, looking at precedent, that you are going to detain these people until war is over, if that is ultimately what we wanted to do.” [CNN, 1/02]
On Warentless Wiretapping: “I never thought I would see that a President would act in direct defiance of Federal law by authorizing warentless NSA surveillance of American citizens. This disrespect for the rule of law is not only wrong it destructive in our struggle against terrorism.” [ACS Conference, 6/14/08]
On U.S. Attorney Scandal: “‘Internally, there is a morale problem the likes of which I have never seen before,’ Holder said. ‘Externally, there is a crisis of confidence that the nation has with regard to the department.’” [Washington Post, 11/10/07]
On Politicization Of Justice Department: “Holder said [Attorney General Michael] Mukasey ‘has to move swiftly and tangibly in order to restore faith in the integrity of the decision making at Justice. He has to show that he, not political operatives at the White House, is making the calls at Justice.’” [AP, 11/9/07]
On Scooter Libby Sentencing: “[T]he sentence Libby got, it was a little farther than I would have gone.” [Bloomberg News, 6/27/07]
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If Mr. Holder really believes the things he has said, he will have no choice but to prosecute George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, John Yoo, Alberto Gonzales, ect.
November 19th, 2008 at 1:15 pmThis is all well and good but, can he sing as well as John Ashcroft and tap dance like Mukasey?
November 19th, 2008 at 1:22 pmthe AG does NOT serve the president.
jesus.
November 19th, 2008 at 1:22 pm1st order of business, prosecute Chimpy, Cheney, KKK Rove, Gonzo, Mukasey, Bolton, Meier’s, et al, for their crimes.
November 19th, 2008 at 1:24 pmMIKE MALLOY EXPOSED THIS GUY WHO WORKED AS A DEFENSE LAWYER FOR CHIQUITA AND FOR THE RIGHTWING DEATHSQUADS IN COLOMBIA WHICH KILLED 4,000 PEOPLE
OOOPS.
November 19th, 2008 at 1:24 pmrastaman; you got a link to that?
November 19th, 2008 at 1:26 pmAgreed, shoeless. It’s time that the American people had an Attorney General who actually cares about the rule of laws that this Nation was founded on and NOT chose to be soley a firewall to protect the Administration. Equal and exact justice for ALL men was something our founding fathers cared deeply about and the thought of such a criminal Administration avoiding justice flies in the face of everything that this Country was based on. Restoring credibility to our Government is surely no easy task but it MUST begin with investigations into the myriad of broken laws strewn about the West Wing. If and when enough evidence is uncovered it will be Mr. Holder’s responsibility to bring swift, unyielding justice upon all involved. Be they Republican or Democrat if you were a part of this mess you had better lawyer up.
“Justice consists not in being neutral between right and wrong, but in finding out the right and upholding it, wherever found, against the wrong.”
-T. ROOSEVELT
Even GW Bush would welcome such investigations:
“I call on all governments to join with the United States and the community of law-abiding nations in prohibiting, investigating, and prosecuting all acts of torture …”
The Atlantic Monthly, October 2003
November 19th, 2008 at 1:34 pmThis is from Wikipedia:
He has also represented the NFL, for what it’s worth.
November 19th, 2008 at 1:44 pmHopefully, he will bring the Bush mis-administration to the justice they deserve…
…but I am not holding my breath on that one…
…Obama is truly trying to be a uniter (unlike Bush)…
…but if he thinks that the Repukes will have any of that, then he needs to review the past 20 years of repukian history…they are the mafia and need to be treated like one.
November 19th, 2008 at 1:49 pm#3. According to the US Department of Justice, here is the role of the AG:
http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/
Thus it appears that you are wrong. The fact that the Attorney General
certainly seems to me like that person does in fact “serve the President” by giving advice and opinions. Care to try again?
November 19th, 2008 at 1:52 pmGOOGLE “ERIC HOLDER CHIQUITA”
November 19th, 2008 at 1:53 pmAttorneys work on cases which are distasteful all the time — because no matter who you are, you’re entitled to a defense. The attorney doesn’t have to AGREE with whomever he works for, he simply has to make sure his clients rights are protected.
Here’s an idea: Let’s not trash the Obama presidency before it even begins.
November 19th, 2008 at 1:58 pmWhat Zooey said.
I’m sick of people bashing attorneys for actually representing their clients to the best of their ability. Ours is an adversarial judicial system which depends upon each side giving their strongest argument.
And, yes, let’s give Obama some breathing room!
November 19th, 2008 at 2:03 pmHey rastaman I found this: Mr. Holder’s community activities include service on a number of philanthropic boards, including the Meyer Foundation and Save the Children. He has received numerous awards and honorary degrees and is featured in The Best Lawyers in America 2007 for Bet-the-Company Litigation.
http://newtalk.org/experts/EricHolder
Does that count?
November 19th, 2008 at 2:03 pmgummitch Says:
This is from Wikipedia:
In 2004, Holder helped negotiate an agreement with the Justice Department for Chiquita Brands International in a case that involved Chiquita’s payment of “protection money” to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, a group on the U.S. government’s list of terrorist organizations.[20][21] In the agreement, Chiquita’s officials pleaded guilty and paid a fine of $25 million.[21] Holder represents Chiquita in the civil action that grew out of this criminal case.[21]
Yeah, some lawyers even represent people on trial for murder, even.
November 19th, 2008 at 2:04 pmHow dare lawyers do the job they got their licenses for….
/snark
Everybody, even the republicans have accepted that Obama’s administration will look nothing like the bush admin of cronies and ner do wells…..
with the exception of course of kay, freeman and brain.
November 19th, 2008 at 2:26 pmNettles Says:
Seriously? You think this is an issue that you can gain leverage with?
Remember gonzo……..remember?
November 19th, 2008 at 2:47 pmNettles Says:
Hows that permanent Republican majority working out for you lately, freakazoid?
November 19th, 2008 at 2:50 pmObviously Think Progress hasn’t been looking at what Firedoglake thinks of Holder.
http://firedoglake.com/2008/11/18/holder-why-oh-why/
November 19th, 2008 at 2:58 pmSomebody is gonna have a busy couple of years.
Not just looking at the mountain of undoing Bush. But also, when a good manager comes into a department that has been mismanaged, it is really, really, H-hockey sticks, to get things to a good level.
November 19th, 2008 at 3:17 pmWhat I want to know is what the Justice Department is going to do with the thousands of whistle blowers who come out of the woodwork after January 20. Sy Hirsch was quoted as saying that he can’t count the number of people who told him to come back and talk to them after January 20. These people would love to tell their tale, but right now are afraid for their jobs and even their lives.
I can’t see the Justice Department ignoring the whistle blowers, can you?
November 19th, 2008 at 3:36 pmtsdivadani Says:
Obviously Think Progress hasn’t been looking at what Firedoglake thinks of Holder.
http://firedoglake.com/2008/11/18/holder-why-oh-why/
And the reason why TP should care what they are saying at firedoglake is?
Apparently Obama trusts Holder and has a connection with him. I will withhold judgment until such time as Obama is actually President and does something worth judging and complaining about.
November 19th, 2008 at 3:38 pmObviously Think Progress hasn’t been looking at what Salon and Glenn Greenwald thinks of Holder.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/11/19/holder/index.html
November 19th, 2008 at 3:49 pmBilbo Hussein Baggins Says:
Obviously Think Progress hasn’t been looking at what Salon and Glenn Greenwald thinks of Holder.
I certainly value Greenwald’s opinion above many others. The Marc Rich situation is one that, Holder said himself, he regrets not being more careful about. It was a last-minute thing passed by him, and he acknowledges that he should have been more careful in screening it. The bigger issue, it seems to me, is Clinton considering it. But not being a big Bill Clinton fan, I guess I would say that, right? Brilliant man, but basically unprincipled. To be honest, that’s why I never supported Hillary during the primaries. “Birds of a feather flock together.” Didn’t trust her, and I hope she turns down the SOS position. I expect her to, actually, because she has political ambitions which being SOS would definitely put a crimp in.
As for Holder, he seems to be a good choice. But as they say, “the proof is in the pudding.” Let’s wait to see what happens. My own proclivity is to be pretty distrustful of government in general. Since I was about 5 years old. Don’t know why for sure. My folks were pretty apolitical. But always been attuned to hypocrisy. Maybe it’s because I was raised a (moderate) Southern Baptist but saw early on the behavior of the adult congregation vs. the simple message I was taught in Sunday School. If that’s the case, thank God for my Sunday School!
November 19th, 2008 at 4:47 pmWow! Now if only Obama will put a human being in to lead the Defense Department, Homeland Security, and the very critically astray CIA, the United States can really begin recovery from the past 8 years of Bush/Cheney terror.
November 19th, 2008 at 4:47 pmClinton’s pardon of Marc Rich seems somehow quaint when compared to all the crimes committed during the Bush/Cheney years by Republicans and all the pardons that Bush will probably issue just before he leaves office in an attempt to provide a firewall between himself (and Cheney) and those lower-level Republicans delegated to commit crimes on their authority.
November 19th, 2008 at 9:48 pm