Eric Holder
Encyclopedia
Eric Himpton Holder, Jr. (born January 21, 1951) is the 82nd and current Attorney General
of the United States
and the first African American
to hold the position, serving under President
Barack Obama
.
Holder previously served as a judge
of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia
and a United States Attorney
. In that office he prosecuted Congressman Dan Rostenkowski
(Democrat, Illinois) for corruption charges related to his role in the Congressional Post Office scandal
. Later, he was Deputy Attorney General of the United States and worked at the law firm of Covington & Burling
in Washington, D.C. He was senior legal advisor to then-Senator
Barack Obama during Obama's presidential campaign
and one of three members of Obama's vice-presidential selection committee.
. Holder's father, Eric Himpton Holder, Sr. (1905–1970) was born in Saint Joseph, Barbados and arrived in the United States at the age of 11. He later became a real estate
broker. His mother, Miriam, was born in New Jersey
, while his maternal grandparents were immigrants from Saint Philip, Barbados. Holder grew up in East Elmhurst, Queens
, and attended public school until the age of 10. When entering the 4th grade he was selected to participate in a program for intellectually-gifted students. In 1969, he graduated from Stuyvesant High School
in Manhattan
and attended Columbia University
, where he played freshman basketball and was co-captain of his team. He earned a A.B.
degree in American history in 1973. Holder received his Juris Doctor
from Columbia Law School
, graduating in 1976. He worked for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
during his first summer and the United States Attorney
during his second summer.
's new Public Integrity Section
during an interval lasting from 1976 to 1988. During his time there, he assisted in the prosecution of Democratic Congressman John Jenrette
for bribery
discovered in the Abscam
sting operation. In 1988, President
Ronald Reagan
appointed Holder to serve as a judge
of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia
.
Holder stepped down from the bench in 1993 to accept an appointment as United States Attorney
for the District of Columbia
from President Bill Clinton
. He was the first African-American U.S. Attorney in that office. At the beginning of his tenure, he oversaw the conclusion of the corruption case against Dan Rostenkowski
, part of the Congressional Post Office scandal
. He was a U.S. Attorney until his elevation to Deputy Attorney General in 1997. Holder also served on The George Washington University's Board of Trustees in 1996 and 1997.
, Clinton nominated Holder to be the Deputy Attorney General under Janet Reno
. Holder was confirmed several months later in the Senate
by a unanimous vote. During his confirmation hearing, Holder's opposition to the death penalty was questioned, but he pledged his intention to cooperate with the current laws and Reno, saying, "I am not a proponent of the death penalty, but I will enforce the law as this Congress gives it to us." Holder was the first African-American to serve in that position. Holder briefly served as Acting Attorney General under President George W. Bush
until the Senate confirmed Bush's nominee John Ashcroft
.
As Deputy Attorney General, Holder advised Reno about how far to go in the Justice Department's use of the Independent Counsel statute
. Reno made the decision to permit Kenneth Starr
to expand his investigation into the Lewinsky affair, leading to Clinton's impeachment
.
In his final days with the Clinton administration, Holder was involved with Clinton's last-minute pardon of fugitive and Democratic contributor Marc Rich
. Between November 2000 and January 2001, Jack Quinn
, Rich's lawyer and former White House Counsel
from 1995–96, had been contacting Holder, testing the waters for the political viability of a presidential pardon. Quinn asked Holder for advice as to how he should proceed. According to Rich's attorney, Holder advised to circumvent standard procedures and to submit the pardon petition directly to the White House.
After presenting his case to Holder in a November phone call and a last minute January 17 letter, Quinn arranged a phone call between the White House and Holder, asking the Deputy Attorney General to share his opinion on the Rich pardon. Holder gave Clinton a "neutral, leaning towards favorable" opinion of the pardon. The reporter Joe Conason
contends that Rich's pardon was actually a favor from Clinton to members of the Israeli government, for which Clinton hoped to gain progress in the peace talks between Israel
and Palestine
.
During his February testimonies before the House Government Reform Committee and Senate Judiciary Committee, Holder argued his phone call was not intended as a formal Justice Department blessing of the pardon, saying, "my interaction with the White House, I did not view as a recommendation. because I didn't have the ability to look at all the materials that had been vetted through the way we normally vet materials." He also did not believe his opinion would be interpreted as a go-ahead for the pardon. "What I said to the White House counsel ultimately was that I was neutral on this because I didn't have a factual basis to make a determination as to whether or not Mr. Quinn's contentions were in fact accurate, whether or not there had been a change in the law, a change in the applicable Justice Department regulations, and whether or not that was something that would justify the extraordinary grant of a pardon." An investigation led by House Government Reform Committee chairman Dan Burton
concluded in a 2003 report covering 177 Clinton pardons that Holder had played a significant role in facilitating the Rich pardon, first by recommending the well-connected Jack Quinn to Rich's legal representatives, by failing to fully inform prosecutors of the pending pardon, and by eventually delivering a "neutral leaning favorable" opinion to Clinton from a position of authority. Holder has expressed some regret over his handling of the Rich pardon, stating "I wish I had done some things differently with regard to the Marc Rich matter. Specifically, I wish that I had ensured that the Department of Justice was more fully informed and involved in this pardon process", and called his own actions a "mistake".
Holder was also involved in Clinton's decision to reduce the criminal sentences of 16 members of the Boricua Popular Army
, an organization that has been categorized by the FBI as a terrorist organization. The clemency request was initially opposed in 1996 by U.S. Pardons Attorney
Margaret Love. When Holder was elevated to Deputy Attorney General in 1997, he was asked to reexamine the issue by three members of Congress. In July 1999, Holder recommended clemency to Clinton with a report from then U.S. Pardons Attorney Roger Adams that neither supported nor opposed clemency. A month later, Clinton granted clemency. According to The Hartford Courant
, the grant of clemency was unusual because it was opposed by the FBI, the federal prosecutor and the victims. According to the newspaper, it was also unusual because before the commutations, the Boricua Popular Army members were not required to repudiate their actions and were not asked to provide any information concerning the whereabouts of Victor Manuel Gerena
, a co-conspirator and one of the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
, or the millions of dollars stolen by the group in a 1983 robbery of Wells Fargo
in West Hartford, Connecticut
.
in Washington, D.C., representing clients such as Merck
and the National Football League
. He represented the NFL during its dog fighting investigation
against Michael Vick
.
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. In the agreement, Chiquita's officials pleaded guilty and paid a fine of $25 million. Holder represented Chiquita in the civil action
that grew out of this criminal case.
In March 2004, Holder and Covington & Burling were hired by Illinois Governor
Rod Blagojevich
to act as a special investigator to the Illinois Gaming Board. The Gaming Board had voted 4-1 earlier that month to allow a casino to be built in Rosemont, Illinois
. That vote defied the recommendation of the board's staff, which had raised concerns about alleged organized-crime links to the Rosemont casino's developer. The move had also raised concerns that the governor had named his close friend and fund-raiser, Christopher Kelly
, as a "special government agent" to be involved in official state negotiations about the casino. Holder's legal work for the State of Illinois
never materialized when the board reversed its decision and refused to hire Kelly. The investigation was subsequently canceled on May 18, 2004.
The firm represented Guantanamo inmates but Holder "never participated directly in the firm's Guantanamo work", and is not expected to recuse himself from matters pertaining to it.
While D.C. v. Heller
was being heard by the Supreme Court in 2008, Holder joined the Reno-led amicus
brief, which urged the Supreme Court to uphold Washington, D.C.'s handgun ban and said the position of the Department of Justice, from Franklin Roosevelt through Clinton, was that the Second Amendment
does not protect an individual right to keep and bear arms for purposes unrelated to a State’s operation of a well-regulated militia
. Holder said that overturning the 1976 law "opens the door to more people having more access to guns and putting guns on the streets."
In 2008, Holder represented the wife of Robert Wone
, victim of a controversial and unsolved 2006 murder.
In late 2007, Holder joined then-United States Senator
Barack Obama
's presidential campaign
as a senior legal advisor. He served on Obama's vice presidential selection committee.
Holder favors closing the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, although he said in 2002 that the detainees are not technically entitled to Geneva Convention protections. He is opposed to the Bush administration's implementation of the Patriot Act
, saying it is "bad ultimately for law enforcement and will cost us the support of the American people." He has been critical of Enhanced interrogation techniques
and the NSA warrantless surveillance program, accusing the Bush administration of a "disrespect for the rule of law... [that is] not only wrong, it is destructive in our struggle against terrorism."
on January 28. Following his confirmation by the full Senate
on February 2, 2009, he became the first African-American Attorney General of the United States. His installation took place on March 27, 2009 at the Lisner Auditorium of the George Washington University.
During his confirmation hearings in the Senate, Holder agreed with Senator Patrick Leahy
, Democrat of Vermont
, that a technique used by U.S. interrogators under the Bush administration
known as waterboarding
is torture
. Holder was confirmed by a 75-21 vote on February 2, 2009.
Holder gave a speech on race relations on February 18, 2009, in the midst of Black History Month
, in which he called the United States "a nation of cowards" on racial issues. "Though race-related issues continue to occupy a significant portion of our political discussion and though there remain many unresolved racial issues in this nation, we average Americans simply do not talk enough with each other about race," he said. The speech stirred mild controversy, with some reacting favorably to Holder's comments and others sharply criticizing them. Obama rebuked Holder's comments, saying that “I think it’s fair to say that if I had been advising my attorney general, we would have used different language”.
When questioned about weapons regulations during a news conference to announce the arrest of Mexican
drug cartel
members, Holder stated that the Obama administration would seek to re-institute the expired Assault Weapons Ban, which he strongly supports.
After the U.S. government filed suit against the Swiss
bank UBS AG
, whom Holder had represented during his time in private practice, the attorney general recused himself from all legal matters concerning the bank, which stands accused of conspiracy in U.S. tax fraud.
On April 1, 2009, Holder announced that he had ordered the dismissal of the indictment against former Senator Ted Stevens
on corruption charges. Stevens had been found guilty, but hadn't been sentenced; Holder's action effectively vacated Stevens' conviction. Holder was reportedly very angry that the prosecutors had withheld potentially exculpatory evidence
from Stevens' attorneys. After the prosecutors had been held in contempt of court
for failing to turn over required documents, Holder replaced the entire trial team. Soon afterward, the Justice Department discovered a previously undocumented interview with Bill Allen, the prosecution's star witness. In this interview, Allen gave statements that directly contradicted his testimony at trial, including a claim that he'd been asked to get a note for a repair bill on his house. By nearly all accounts, Holder wanted to send a message that he would not tolerate any behavior he deemed to be prosecutorial misconduct
.
Holder presented friend and predecessor Janet Reno
, Attorney General under the Clinton Administration, the American Judicature Society
's (AJS) Justice Award on April 17, 2009. The award is the highest given by the AJS, and recognizes significant contributions toward improvements in the administration of justice within the United States.
On November 13, 2009, Holder announced that accused September 11 attack conspirators Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Ramzi Bin al-Shibh, Walid bin Attash, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali
and Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi would be transferred from the military commissions
system to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York for trial. He also expressed confidence that an impartial jury would be found "to ensure a fair trial in New York".
Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee on April 14, 2010, "No final decision has been made about the forum which Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his co-defendants will be tried. As I said at the outset, this is a very close call."
However, in early April 2011 Holder announced that the 9/11 co-conspirators will be tried by a military tribunal. "Holder said that he believes the trials could have been held in New York or Virginia, but that Congress imposed restrictions on where the trial could be held, taking the decision from his hands."
In May 2010 Holder expressed "concerns" about "Arizona’s tough new immigration law", saying that it might "lead to racial profiling". Holder was criticized for his testimony during a House Judiciary Committee hearing, when he said that he had "not read" the Arizona law and that he had formed his opinions on the basis of news reports. In July 2010, Holder stated that the Justice Department filed suit against the Arizona law because it is preempted by federal law. Holder was quoted as saying, "I understand, first off, the frustration of the people of Arizona and the concerns that they have with regard to the amount of illegal immigration that occurs, but the solution that the Arizona legislature came up with is inconsistent with our federal Constitution."
In July 2010, Holder flew to Kampala
, Uganda
, to address the Heads of State Summit of the African Union
, where he discussed the Obama Administration's priorities with regards to Africa and the terrorist bombings in Kampala
during the World Cup
.
Before the November 2010 elections, Holder stated that he planned to prosecute people in California
if they possess marijuana even if Californian voters passed a proposition legalizing marijuana (Proposition 19
). Proposition 19 was ultimately defeated.
After the United States diplomatic cables leak
in December 2010, Holder said that "We have an active, ongoing, criminal investigation with regard to this matter," Holder said. "We are not in a position as yet to announce the result of that investigation, but the investigation is--is ongoing. To the extent that we can find anybody who was involved in the breaking of American law and who has put at risk the assets and the people that I have described, they will be held responsible," Holder said. "They will be held accountable." Holder's comments leave open a crucial question, which is whether the investigators are looking at how WikiLeaks obtained the documents (not unlike probing a news organization's source), or if they're looking at whether WikiLeaks staffers violated criminal law and should be the ones indicted.
In March 2011 Holder left open the possibility that the Guantánamo Bay terrorist prison camp might live on beyond President Obama’s first term. Asked in a congressional hearing whether the prison would be closed by November 2012, Holder said: "I don’t know". He said the Justice Department has established a task force to look at each of the 172 detainees being held at the Guantánamo prison to address how they should be dealt with. Holder’s comments come just weeks after CIA Director Leon Panetta
told a Senate panel that Osama bin Laden would probably be shipped to and held at the Guantánamo Bay facility if he were captured.
Texas governor Rick Perry has written in the Washington Times that, "It is time for Mr. Holder to go." because of his role in the Fast and Furious
scandal that lead to the death of Federal Agent Brian Terry. Perry stated that, "America simply cannot tolerate an attorney general who arms the very criminals he is supposed to protect us from".
, who in May 2010 resigned his post at the Department of Justice out of protest, and by his former supervisor Christopher Coates
.
J. Christian Adams and former Bush appointee Hans A. von Spakovsky
have also accused the civil rights division in Holder's Department of Justice of inactivity and wastefulness. According to Adams and von Spakovsky, although the voting section has hired dozens of new attorneys, the number of actual cases filed has declined sharply since Holder took office, and many of its employees spend their time "playing computer Solitaire, watching videos, and venting at the lack of activity."
During a meeting with a House subcommittee discussing this and other issues, Holder has argued that the behavior from the New Black Panther Party was not comparable to historical voter intimidation against minorities, stating "When you compare what people endured in the South in the ’60s to try to get the right to vote for African Americans, to compare what people subjected to that with what happened in Philadelphia… I think does a great disservice to people who put their lives on the line for my people." Critics have interpreted this comment as evidence of racial bias on Holder's part, with James Taranto of the Wall Street Journal arguing "If he approaches the job with the attitude that any group smaller than all Americans is 'my people,' he is the wrong man for the position."
Holder has faced additional controversy for the Obama Administration's decision that his Department of Justice would no longer enforce certain provisions of the Defense of Marriage Act
, which Representative Frank Wolf has described as a "decision to abandon your duty to defend this law."
House oversight committee Chairman Darrell Issa and Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley sent Holder a letter in May 2011 asking for details about Operation Fast and Furious
, the ATF operation that sent thousands guns to Mexican drug cartels. Tax money may have been used to purchase the guns Grassley and Issa, "have urged Holder to cooperate and turn over subpoenaed records that would reveal the scope of the government coverup." In October 2011, documents were released that indicated Holder was sent memos in regards to Operation Fast and Furious in 2010, contradicting Holder's sworn testimony before the House Judiciary Committee in which he said he was unaware of Operation Fast and Furious until April 2011. In response, Lamar Smith
, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to President Obama, requesting the appointment of an independent special counsel to investigate whether Holder committed perjury by lying to the committee while under oath.
More than 40 congressmen have called on Holder to resign because of Fast and Furious.
Holder did not apologize to the family of murdered agent Terry until after congress pressured him to do so.
, famous for her part in the Stand in the Schoolhouse Door
which led to integration at the University of Alabama
. Holder has been involved with various mentoring programs for inner-city youths. He is also an avid basketball fan.
announced that it would begin a project to determine the first 100 Great Barbadians which would be selected among the public of Barbados
. At the announcement of the project it was announced that Eric Holder was the first candidate to be nominated toward the final list.
On May 16, 2010, Eric Holder presented the commencement address at Boston University
, for both the All-University Ceremony and the School of Law. In addition, he was presented with an Honorary
Doctor of Laws degree. On May 19, 2009, Holder was chosen by his alma mater, Columbia College, to be its Class Day Speaker.
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United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the first African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
to hold the position, serving under President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
.
Holder previously served as a judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia
Superior Court of the District of Columbia
The Superior Court of the District of Columbia is the local trial court for the District of Columbia. It hears cases involving criminal and civil law. The court also handles specialized cases in the following areas: family court, landlord and tenant, probate, tax, and traffic offenses...
and a United States Attorney
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
. In that office he prosecuted Congressman Dan Rostenkowski
Dan Rostenkowski
Daniel David "Dan" Rostenkowski was a United States Representative from Illinois, serving from 1959 to 1995. Raised in a blue-collar neighborhood on the Northwest Side of Chicago, Rostenkowski rose to become one of the most powerful legislators in Washington. He was a member of the Democratic Party...
(Democrat, Illinois) for corruption charges related to his role in the Congressional Post Office scandal
Congressional Post Office Scandal
The Congressional Post Office scandal refers to the discovery of corruption among various Congressional Post Office employees and members of the United States House of Representatives, investigated 1991–1995, climaxing in the conviction of House Ways and Means Committee chairman Dan...
. Later, he was Deputy Attorney General of the United States and worked at the law firm of Covington & Burling
Covington & Burling
Covington & Burling LLP is an international law firm with offices in Beijing, Brussels, London, New York, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, San Diego, and Washington, DC. The firm advises multinational corporations on significant transactional, litigation, regulatory, and public policy matters...
in Washington, D.C. He was senior legal advisor to then-Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Barack Obama during Obama's presidential campaign
Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008
Barack Obama, then junior United States Senator from Illinois, announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States in Springfield, Illinois, on February 10, 2007. On August 27, 2008, he was declared nominee of the Democratic Party for the 2008 presidential election...
and one of three members of Obama's vice-presidential selection committee.
Early life
Eric Himpton Holder, Jr. was born in the Bronx, New York, to parents with roots in BarbadosBarbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
. Holder's father, Eric Himpton Holder, Sr. (1905–1970) was born in Saint Joseph, Barbados and arrived in the United States at the age of 11. He later became a real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
broker. His mother, Miriam, was born in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, while his maternal grandparents were immigrants from Saint Philip, Barbados. Holder grew up in East Elmhurst, Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
, and attended public school until the age of 10. When entering the 4th grade he was selected to participate in a program for intellectually-gifted students. In 1969, he graduated from Stuyvesant High School
Stuyvesant High School
Stuyvesant High School , commonly referred to as Stuy , is a New York City public high school that specializes in mathematics and science. The school opened in 1904 on Manhattan's East Side and moved to a new building in Battery Park City in 1992. Stuyvesant is noted for its strong academic...
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
and attended Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, where he played freshman basketball and was co-captain of his team. He earned a A.B.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in American history in 1973. Holder received his Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
from Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School, founded in 1858, is one of the oldest and most prestigious law schools in the United States. A member of the Ivy League, Columbia Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Columbia University in New York City. It offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in...
, graduating in 1976. He worked for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. is a leading United States civil rights organization and law firm based in New York City....
during his first summer and the United States Attorney
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
during his second summer.
Career
After graduating from law school, Holder joined the U.S. Justice DepartmentUnited States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
's new Public Integrity Section
Public Integrity Section
The Public Integrity Section is a section of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice charged with combating political corruption at all levels of government through the prosecution of corrupt federal, state, and local elected and appointed public officials.-Administrative...
during an interval lasting from 1976 to 1988. During his time there, he assisted in the prosecution of Democratic Congressman John Jenrette
John Jenrette
John Wilson Jenrette, Jr. is a former American politician from South Carolina. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat from January 1975 until December 1980. He was convicted of accepting a bribe in the FBI's Abscam operation.-Biography:Jenrette was born in Horry County,...
for bribery
Bribery
Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...
discovered in the Abscam
Abscam
Abscam was a United States Federal Bureau of Investigation sting operation run from the FBI's Hauppauge, Long Island, office in the late 1970s and early 1980s...
sting operation. In 1988, President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
appointed Holder to serve as a judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia
Superior Court of the District of Columbia
The Superior Court of the District of Columbia is the local trial court for the District of Columbia. It hears cases involving criminal and civil law. The court also handles specialized cases in the following areas: family court, landlord and tenant, probate, tax, and traffic offenses...
.
Holder stepped down from the bench in 1993 to accept an appointment as United States Attorney
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
for the District of Columbia
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
from President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
. He was the first African-American U.S. Attorney in that office. At the beginning of his tenure, he oversaw the conclusion of the corruption case against Dan Rostenkowski
Dan Rostenkowski
Daniel David "Dan" Rostenkowski was a United States Representative from Illinois, serving from 1959 to 1995. Raised in a blue-collar neighborhood on the Northwest Side of Chicago, Rostenkowski rose to become one of the most powerful legislators in Washington. He was a member of the Democratic Party...
, part of the Congressional Post Office scandal
Congressional Post Office Scandal
The Congressional Post Office scandal refers to the discovery of corruption among various Congressional Post Office employees and members of the United States House of Representatives, investigated 1991–1995, climaxing in the conviction of House Ways and Means Committee chairman Dan...
. He was a U.S. Attorney until his elevation to Deputy Attorney General in 1997. Holder also served on The George Washington University's Board of Trustees in 1996 and 1997.
Deputy Attorney General
In 1997, after the retirement of Jamie GorelickJamie Gorelick
Jamie S. Gorelick is an American attorney, presently representing BP. She was Deputy Attorney General of the United States during the Clinton administration...
, Clinton nominated Holder to be the Deputy Attorney General under Janet Reno
Janet Reno
Janet Wood Reno is a former Attorney General of the United States . She was nominated by President Bill Clinton on February 11, 1993, and confirmed on March 11...
. Holder was confirmed several months later in the Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
by a unanimous vote. During his confirmation hearing, Holder's opposition to the death penalty was questioned, but he pledged his intention to cooperate with the current laws and Reno, saying, "I am not a proponent of the death penalty, but I will enforce the law as this Congress gives it to us." Holder was the first African-American to serve in that position. Holder briefly served as Acting Attorney General under President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
until the Senate confirmed Bush's nominee John Ashcroft
John Ashcroft
John David Ashcroft is a United States politician who served as the 79th United States Attorney General, from 2001 until 2005, appointed by President George W. Bush. Ashcroft previously served as the 50th Governor of Missouri and a U.S...
.
United States Office of the Independent Counsel
United States Office of the Independent Counsel was an independent prosecutor — distinct from the Attorney General of the United States Department of Justice — that provided reports to the Congress under . The office was terminated in 1999 and replaced by the U.S...
. Reno made the decision to permit Kenneth Starr
Kenneth Starr
Kenneth Winston "Ken" Starr is an American lawyer and educational administrator who has also been a federal judge. He is best known for his investigation of figures during the Clinton administration....
to expand his investigation into the Lewinsky affair, leading to Clinton's impeachment
Impeachment of Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton, President of the United States, was impeached by the House of Representatives on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice on December 19, 1998, but acquitted by the Senate on February 12, 1999. Two other impeachment articles, a second perjury charge and a charge of abuse of...
.
In his final days with the Clinton administration, Holder was involved with Clinton's last-minute pardon of fugitive and Democratic contributor Marc Rich
Marc Rich
Marc Rich is an international commodities trader and entrepreneur. He is best known for founding the commodities company Glencore. He was indicted in the United States on federal charges of illegally making oil deals with Iran during the late 1970s-early 1980s Iran hostage crisis and tax evasion...
. Between November 2000 and January 2001, Jack Quinn
Jack Quinn (lawyer)
Jack Quinn was born and grew up in New York. He attended Georgetown University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1971. Quinn later attended night classes at Georgetown University Law Center while serving as a staff member on the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs ...
, Rich's lawyer and former White House Counsel
White House Counsel
The White House Counsel is a staff appointee of the President of the United States.-Role:The Counsel's role is to advise the President on all legal issues concerning the President and the White House...
from 1995–96, had been contacting Holder, testing the waters for the political viability of a presidential pardon. Quinn asked Holder for advice as to how he should proceed. According to Rich's attorney, Holder advised to circumvent standard procedures and to submit the pardon petition directly to the White House.
After presenting his case to Holder in a November phone call and a last minute January 17 letter, Quinn arranged a phone call between the White House and Holder, asking the Deputy Attorney General to share his opinion on the Rich pardon. Holder gave Clinton a "neutral, leaning towards favorable" opinion of the pardon. The reporter Joe Conason
Joe Conason
Joe Conason is an American journalist, author and political commentator. He writes a column for the weekly New York Observer newspaper, for Salon.com and has written a number of books, including Big Lies , which addresses what he says are myths spread about liberals by conservatives.-Life and...
contends that Rich's pardon was actually a favor from Clinton to members of the Israeli government, for which Clinton hoped to gain progress in the peace talks between Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
.
During his February testimonies before the House Government Reform Committee and Senate Judiciary Committee, Holder argued his phone call was not intended as a formal Justice Department blessing of the pardon, saying, "my interaction with the White House, I did not view as a recommendation. because I didn't have the ability to look at all the materials that had been vetted through the way we normally vet materials." He also did not believe his opinion would be interpreted as a go-ahead for the pardon. "What I said to the White House counsel ultimately was that I was neutral on this because I didn't have a factual basis to make a determination as to whether or not Mr. Quinn's contentions were in fact accurate, whether or not there had been a change in the law, a change in the applicable Justice Department regulations, and whether or not that was something that would justify the extraordinary grant of a pardon." An investigation led by House Government Reform Committee chairman Dan Burton
Dan Burton
Danny "Dan" Lee Burton is the U.S. Representative for , and previously the , serving since 1983. He is a member of the Republican Party....
concluded in a 2003 report covering 177 Clinton pardons that Holder had played a significant role in facilitating the Rich pardon, first by recommending the well-connected Jack Quinn to Rich's legal representatives, by failing to fully inform prosecutors of the pending pardon, and by eventually delivering a "neutral leaning favorable" opinion to Clinton from a position of authority. Holder has expressed some regret over his handling of the Rich pardon, stating "I wish I had done some things differently with regard to the Marc Rich matter. Specifically, I wish that I had ensured that the Department of Justice was more fully informed and involved in this pardon process", and called his own actions a "mistake".
Boricua Popular Army
The Boricua Popular/People's Army — or Ejército Popular Boricua in Spanish — is a clandestine organization based on the island of Puerto Rico, with cells in the United States. They campaign for and support the independence of Puerto Rico from what they characterize as United States colonial rule...
, an organization that has been categorized by the FBI as a terrorist organization. The clemency request was initially opposed in 1996 by U.S. Pardons Attorney
Office of the Pardon Attorney
The Office of the Pardon Attorney, in consultation with the Attorney General of the United States or his designee, assists the President of the United States in the exercise of executive clemency as authorized under Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution. Under the Constitution, the President's...
Margaret Love. When Holder was elevated to Deputy Attorney General in 1997, he was asked to reexamine the issue by three members of Congress. In July 1999, Holder recommended clemency to Clinton with a report from then U.S. Pardons Attorney Roger Adams that neither supported nor opposed clemency. A month later, Clinton granted clemency. According to The Hartford Courant
The Hartford Courant
The Hartford Courant is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is a morning newspaper for most of the state north of New Haven and east of Waterbury...
, the grant of clemency was unusual because it was opposed by the FBI, the federal prosecutor and the victims. According to the newspaper, it was also unusual because before the commutations, the Boricua Popular Army members were not required to repudiate their actions and were not asked to provide any information concerning the whereabouts of Victor Manuel Gerena
Victor Manuel Gerena
Víctor Manuel Gerena is an American fugitive wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the armed robbery, in connection with the Los Macheteros group, of a Wells Fargo armored car facility. On May 14, 1984, he became the 386th fugitive to be placed on the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted...
, a co-conspirator and one of the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
The FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list arose from a conversation held in late 1949 between J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, and William Kinsey Hutchinson, International News Service Editor-in-Chief, who were discussing ways to promote capture of the...
, or the millions of dollars stolen by the group in a 1983 robbery of Wells Fargo
White Eagle: the Wells Fargo depot robbery
White Eagle was the name given by Los Macheteros to its robbery of a Wells Fargo depot on 12 September 1983, a day coinciding with the birth date of Puerto Rican Nationalist Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos. The robbery took place in West Hartford, Connecticut, and netted over $7 million...
in West Hartford, Connecticut
West Hartford, Connecticut
West Hartford is a town located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town was incorporated in 1854. Prior to that date, the town was a parish of Hartford....
.
Private practice
From 2001 until he became Attorney General, Holder worked as an attorney at Covington & BurlingCovington & Burling
Covington & Burling LLP is an international law firm with offices in Beijing, Brussels, London, New York, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, San Diego, and Washington, DC. The firm advises multinational corporations on significant transactional, litigation, regulatory, and public policy matters...
in Washington, D.C., representing clients such as Merck
Merck & Co.
Merck & Co., Inc. , also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme or MSD outside the United States and Canada, is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. The Merck headquarters is located in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, an unincorporated area in Readington Township...
and the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. He represented the NFL during its dog fighting investigation
Bad Newz Kennels dog fighting investigation
The Bad Newz Kennels dog fighting investigation began in April 2007 with a search of property in Surry County, Virginia, owned by Michael Vick, who was at the time quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons football team, and the subsequent discovery of evidence of a dog fighting ring...
against Michael Vick
Michael Vick
Michael Dwayne Vick is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League...
.
In 2004, Holder helped negotiate an agreement with the Justice Department for Chiquita Brands International
Chiquita Brands International
Chiquita Brands International Inc. is an American producer and distributor of bananas and other produce, under a variety of subsidiary brand names, collectively known as Chiquita. Other brands include Fresh Express salads, which it purchased from Performance Food Group in 2005...
in a case that involved Chiquita's payment of "protection money" to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia
United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia
The United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia was created as an umbrella organization of regional far-right...
, a group on the U.S. government's list of terrorist organizations. In the agreement, Chiquita's officials pleaded guilty and paid a fine of $25 million. Holder represented Chiquita in the civil action
Civil law (common law)
Civil law, as opposed to criminal law, is the branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals or organizations, in which compensation may be awarded to the victim...
that grew out of this criminal case.
In March 2004, Holder and Covington & Burling were hired by Illinois Governor
Governor of Illinois
The Governor of Illinois is the chief executive of the State of Illinois and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by popular suffrage of residents of the state....
Rod Blagojevich
Rod Blagojevich
Rod R. Blagojevich is an American politician who served as the 40th Governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009. A Democrat, Blagojevich was a State Representative before being elected to the United States House of Representatives representing parts of Chicago...
to act as a special investigator to the Illinois Gaming Board. The Gaming Board had voted 4-1 earlier that month to allow a casino to be built in Rosemont, Illinois
Rosemont, Illinois
Rosemont is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States located immediately northwest of Chicago. The village was incorporated in 1956, though it had been settled long before that...
. That vote defied the recommendation of the board's staff, which had raised concerns about alleged organized-crime links to the Rosemont casino's developer. The move had also raised concerns that the governor had named his close friend and fund-raiser, Christopher Kelly
Christopher Kelly
Sir Christopher William Kelly, KCB is a former senior British Civil Servant who is currently the Chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life and Chairman of the NSPCC.-Early life:...
, as a "special government agent" to be involved in official state negotiations about the casino. Holder's legal work for the State of Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
never materialized when the board reversed its decision and refused to hire Kelly. The investigation was subsequently canceled on May 18, 2004.
The firm represented Guantanamo inmates but Holder "never participated directly in the firm's Guantanamo work", and is not expected to recuse himself from matters pertaining to it.
While D.C. v. Heller
District of Columbia v. Heller
District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 , was a landmark case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution protects an individual's right to possess a firearm for traditionally lawful purposes in federal enclaves, such as...
was being heard by the Supreme Court in 2008, Holder joined the Reno-led amicus
Amicus curiae
An amicus curiae is someone, not a party to a case, who volunteers to offer information to assist a court in deciding a matter before it...
brief, which urged the Supreme Court to uphold Washington, D.C.'s handgun ban and said the position of the Department of Justice, from Franklin Roosevelt through Clinton, was that the Second Amendment
Second Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights that protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, along with the rest of the Bill of Rights.In 2008 and 2010, the Supreme Court issued two Second...
does not protect an individual right to keep and bear arms for purposes unrelated to a State’s operation of a well-regulated militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
. Holder said that overturning the 1976 law "opens the door to more people having more access to guns and putting guns on the streets."
In 2008, Holder represented the wife of Robert Wone
Murder of Robert Eric Wone
Robert Eric Wone was murdered in Washington, D.C. in August 2006. The case remains unsolved. Wone's body was found in the home of a college friend. Wone, who was 32 years old at the time, was a lawyer living in suburban Oakton, Virginia, but had been working as general counsel at Radio Free Asia in...
, victim of a controversial and unsolved 2006 murder.
In late 2007, Holder joined then-United States Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's presidential campaign
Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008
Barack Obama, then junior United States Senator from Illinois, announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States in Springfield, Illinois, on February 10, 2007. On August 27, 2008, he was declared nominee of the Democratic Party for the 2008 presidential election...
as a senior legal advisor. He served on Obama's vice presidential selection committee.
Holder favors closing the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, although he said in 2002 that the detainees are not technically entitled to Geneva Convention protections. He is opposed to the Bush administration's implementation of the Patriot Act
USA PATRIOT Act
The USA PATRIOT Act is an Act of the U.S. Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001...
, saying it is "bad ultimately for law enforcement and will cost us the support of the American people." He has been critical of Enhanced interrogation techniques
Enhanced interrogation techniques
Enhanced interrogation techniques or alternative set of procedures are terms adopted by the George W. Bush administration in the United States to describe certain severe interrogation methods, often described as torture...
and the NSA warrantless surveillance program, accusing the Bush administration of a "disrespect for the rule of law... [that is] not only wrong, it is destructive in our struggle against terrorism."
Attorney General of the United States
On December 1, 2008, Obama announced that Holder would be his nominee for Attorney General. He was formally nominated on January 20, 2009 and approved by the Senate Judiciary CommitteeUnited States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary is a standing committee of the United States Senate, of the United States Congress. The Judiciary Committee, with 18 members, is charged with conducting hearings prior to the Senate votes on confirmation of federal judges nominated by the...
on January 28. Following his confirmation by the full Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
on February 2, 2009, he became the first African-American Attorney General of the United States. His installation took place on March 27, 2009 at the Lisner Auditorium of the George Washington University.
During his confirmation hearings in the Senate, Holder agreed with Senator Patrick Leahy
Patrick Leahy
Patrick Joseph Leahy is the senior United States Senator from Vermont and member of the Democratic Party. He is the first and only elected Democratic United States Senator in Vermont's history. He is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Leahy is the second most senior U.S. Senator,...
, Democrat of Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, that a technique used by U.S. interrogators under the Bush administration
George W. Bush administration
The presidency of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001, when he was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...
known as waterboarding
Waterboarding
Waterboarding is a form of torture in which water is poured over the face of an immobilized captive, thus causing the individual to experience the sensation of drowning...
is torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
. Holder was confirmed by a 75-21 vote on February 2, 2009.
Holder gave a speech on race relations on February 18, 2009, in the midst of Black History Month
Black History Month
Black History Month is an observance of the history of the African diaspora in a number of countries outside of Africa. Since 1976, it is observed annually in the United States and Canada in February, while in the United Kingdom it is observed in October...
, in which he called the United States "a nation of cowards" on racial issues. "Though race-related issues continue to occupy a significant portion of our political discussion and though there remain many unresolved racial issues in this nation, we average Americans simply do not talk enough with each other about race," he said. The speech stirred mild controversy, with some reacting favorably to Holder's comments and others sharply criticizing them. Obama rebuked Holder's comments, saying that “I think it’s fair to say that if I had been advising my attorney general, we would have used different language”.
When questioned about weapons regulations during a news conference to announce the arrest of Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
drug cartel
Drug cartel
Drug cartels are criminal organizations developed with the primary purpose of promoting and controlling drug trafficking operations. They range from loosely managed agreements among various drug traffickers to formalized commercial enterprises. The term was applied when the largest trafficking...
members, Holder stated that the Obama administration would seek to re-institute the expired Assault Weapons Ban, which he strongly supports.
After the U.S. government filed suit against the Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
bank UBS AG
UBS AG
UBS AG is a Swiss global financial services company headquartered in Basel and Zürich, Switzerland, which provides investment banking, asset management, and wealth management services for private, corporate, and institutional clients worldwide, as well as retail clients in Switzerland...
, whom Holder had represented during his time in private practice, the attorney general recused himself from all legal matters concerning the bank, which stands accused of conspiracy in U.S. tax fraud.
On April 1, 2009, Holder announced that he had ordered the dismissal of the indictment against former Senator Ted Stevens
Ted Stevens
Theodore Fulton "Ted" Stevens, Sr. was a United States Senator from Alaska, serving from December 24, 1968, until January 3, 2009, and thus the longest-serving Republican senator in history...
on corruption charges. Stevens had been found guilty, but hadn't been sentenced; Holder's action effectively vacated Stevens' conviction. Holder was reportedly very angry that the prosecutors had withheld potentially exculpatory evidence
Exculpatory evidence
Exculpatory evidence is the evidence favorable to the defendant in a criminal trial, which clears or tends to clear the defendant of guilt. It is the opposite of inculpatory evidence, which tends to prove guilt....
from Stevens' attorneys. After the prosecutors had been held in contempt of court
Contempt of court
Contempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...
for failing to turn over required documents, Holder replaced the entire trial team. Soon afterward, the Justice Department discovered a previously undocumented interview with Bill Allen, the prosecution's star witness. In this interview, Allen gave statements that directly contradicted his testimony at trial, including a claim that he'd been asked to get a note for a repair bill on his house. By nearly all accounts, Holder wanted to send a message that he would not tolerate any behavior he deemed to be prosecutorial misconduct
Prosecutorial misconduct
In jurisprudence, prosecutorial misconduct is a procedural defense; via which, a defendant may argue that they should not be held criminally liable for actions which may have broken the law, because the prosecution acted in an "inappropriate" or "unfair" manner. Such arguments may involve...
.
Holder presented friend and predecessor Janet Reno
Janet Reno
Janet Wood Reno is a former Attorney General of the United States . She was nominated by President Bill Clinton on February 11, 1993, and confirmed on March 11...
, Attorney General under the Clinton Administration, the American Judicature Society
American Judicature Society
The American Judicature Society is an independent, nonpartisan, national organization of judges, lawyers, and interested members of the public whose mission is to improve the American justice system - to "secure and promote an independent and qualified judiciary and fair system of justice." ...
's (AJS) Justice Award on April 17, 2009. The award is the highest given by the AJS, and recognizes significant contributions toward improvements in the administration of justice within the United States.
On November 13, 2009, Holder announced that accused September 11 attack conspirators Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Ramzi Bin al-Shibh, Walid bin Attash, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali
Ali Abdul Aziz Ali
Ammar al-Baluchi is in U.S. custody and faces the death penalty for aiding several of the hijackers in the September 11 attacks.It is alleged that the majority of money that came to the hijackers from the United Arab Emirates was transferred through Baluchi and Mustafa al-Hawsawi.The 9/11...
and Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi would be transferred from the military commissions
Guantanamo military commission
The Guantanamo military commissions are military tribunals created by the Military Commissions Act of 2006 for prosecuting detainees held in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps.- History :...
system to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York for trial. He also expressed confidence that an impartial jury would be found "to ensure a fair trial in New York".
Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee on April 14, 2010, "No final decision has been made about the forum which Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his co-defendants will be tried. As I said at the outset, this is a very close call."
However, in early April 2011 Holder announced that the 9/11 co-conspirators will be tried by a military tribunal. "Holder said that he believes the trials could have been held in New York or Virginia, but that Congress imposed restrictions on where the trial could be held, taking the decision from his hands."
In May 2010 Holder expressed "concerns" about "Arizona’s tough new immigration law", saying that it might "lead to racial profiling". Holder was criticized for his testimony during a House Judiciary Committee hearing, when he said that he had "not read" the Arizona law and that he had formed his opinions on the basis of news reports. In July 2010, Holder stated that the Justice Department filed suit against the Arizona law because it is preempted by federal law. Holder was quoted as saying, "I understand, first off, the frustration of the people of Arizona and the concerns that they have with regard to the amount of illegal immigration that occurs, but the solution that the Arizona legislature came up with is inconsistent with our federal Constitution."
In July 2010, Holder flew to Kampala
Kampala
Kampala is the largest city and capital of Uganda. The city is divided into five boroughs that oversee local planning: Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division and Lubaga Division. The city is coterminous with Kampala District.-History: of Buganda, had chosen...
, Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, to address the Heads of State Summit of the African Union
African Union
The African Union is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity...
, where he discussed the Obama Administration's priorities with regards to Africa and the terrorist bombings in Kampala
July 2010 Kampala attacks
The July 2010 Kampala attacks were suicide bombings carried out against crowds watching a screening of 2010 FIFA World Cup Final match during the World Cup at two locations in Kampala, Uganda, on , 2010. The attacks left 74 dead and 70 injured...
during the World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
.
Before the November 2010 elections, Holder stated that he planned to prosecute people in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
if they possess marijuana even if Californian voters passed a proposition legalizing marijuana (Proposition 19
California Proposition 19 (2010)
California Proposition 19 was a ballot initiative on the November 2, 2010 statewide ballot...
). Proposition 19 was ultimately defeated.
After the United States diplomatic cables leak
United States diplomatic cables leak
The United States diplomatic cables leak, widely known as Cablegate, began in February 2010 when WikiLeaks—a non-profit organization that publishes submissions from anonymous whistleblowers—began releasing classified cables that had been sent to the U.S. State Department by 274 of its consulates,...
in December 2010, Holder said that "We have an active, ongoing, criminal investigation with regard to this matter," Holder said. "We are not in a position as yet to announce the result of that investigation, but the investigation is--is ongoing. To the extent that we can find anybody who was involved in the breaking of American law and who has put at risk the assets and the people that I have described, they will be held responsible," Holder said. "They will be held accountable." Holder's comments leave open a crucial question, which is whether the investigators are looking at how WikiLeaks obtained the documents (not unlike probing a news organization's source), or if they're looking at whether WikiLeaks staffers violated criminal law and should be the ones indicted.
In March 2011 Holder left open the possibility that the Guantánamo Bay terrorist prison camp might live on beyond President Obama’s first term. Asked in a congressional hearing whether the prison would be closed by November 2012, Holder said: "I don’t know". He said the Justice Department has established a task force to look at each of the 172 detainees being held at the Guantánamo prison to address how they should be dealt with. Holder’s comments come just weeks after CIA Director Leon Panetta
Leon Panetta
Leon Edward Panetta is the 23rd and current United States Secretary of Defense, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama since 2011. Prior to taking office, he served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency...
told a Senate panel that Osama bin Laden would probably be shipped to and held at the Guantánamo Bay facility if he were captured.
Texas governor Rick Perry has written in the Washington Times that, "It is time for Mr. Holder to go." because of his role in the Fast and Furious
Fast and Furious
Fast & Furious is a 2009 street racing action film directed by Justin Lin. It is the fourth film in The Fast and the Furious film series and the third installment in terms of chronology. The plot connects with the original film of the series from which Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez,...
scandal that lead to the death of Federal Agent Brian Terry. Perry stated that, "America simply cannot tolerate an attorney general who arms the very criminals he is supposed to protect us from".
Controversy
In May 2009, Holder's Department of Justice ended a civil suit originally brought by the Bush administration against the New Black Panther Party, its chairman, and two of its members for voter intimidation due to their conduct during the 2008 election. Two members of the party had stood outside a polling station during the election in paramilitary uniforms, one of them carrying a billy club, and both shouted racial insults at white voters. Although none of the defendants appeared in court to contest the charges, the department of justice voluntarily dropped the charges against the party, its chairman, and one of the two members who had stood outside the polling station, and obtained a narrow injunction against the other. While the Department of Justice has contended that the charges were dropped due to lack of evidence, several of its current and former members have stated that Holder's Department of Justice is unwilling to prosecute minorities for civil rights violations. This accusation has been made most notably by J. Christian AdamsJ. Christian Adams
J. Christian Adams is a former United States Department of Justice official who has accused the department of racial bias in its handling of a voter intimidation case against members of the New Black Panther Party.-Career:...
, who in May 2010 resigned his post at the Department of Justice out of protest, and by his former supervisor Christopher Coates
Christopher Coates
Christopher Coates is a U.S. Justice Department official and former ACLU lawyer. He stepped down as Voting Section chief in December 2009 and transferred to the U.S. Attorney's office in South Carolina. He was involved in a prominent case over voter intimidation that was later dropped, and was not...
.
J. Christian Adams and former Bush appointee Hans A. von Spakovsky
Hans A. von Spakovsky
Hans A. von Spakovsky is an American attorney and a former member of the Federal Election Commission . He was nominated to the FEC by President George W...
have also accused the civil rights division in Holder's Department of Justice of inactivity and wastefulness. According to Adams and von Spakovsky, although the voting section has hired dozens of new attorneys, the number of actual cases filed has declined sharply since Holder took office, and many of its employees spend their time "playing computer Solitaire, watching videos, and venting at the lack of activity."
During a meeting with a House subcommittee discussing this and other issues, Holder has argued that the behavior from the New Black Panther Party was not comparable to historical voter intimidation against minorities, stating "When you compare what people endured in the South in the ’60s to try to get the right to vote for African Americans, to compare what people subjected to that with what happened in Philadelphia… I think does a great disservice to people who put their lives on the line for my people." Critics have interpreted this comment as evidence of racial bias on Holder's part, with James Taranto of the Wall Street Journal arguing "If he approaches the job with the attitude that any group smaller than all Americans is 'my people,' he is the wrong man for the position."
Holder has faced additional controversy for the Obama Administration's decision that his Department of Justice would no longer enforce certain provisions of the Defense of Marriage Act
Defense of Marriage Act
The Defense of Marriage Act is a United States federal law whereby the federal government defines marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman. Under the law, no U.S. state may be required to recognize as a marriage a same-sex relationship considered a marriage in another state...
, which Representative Frank Wolf has described as a "decision to abandon your duty to defend this law."
House oversight committee Chairman Darrell Issa and Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley sent Holder a letter in May 2011 asking for details about Operation Fast and Furious
Operation Fast and Furious
Operation Fast and Furious was a sting operation run by the United States via the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Phoenix Field Division between 2009 and 2010. Part of Project Gunrunner, the Southwest Border strategy first implemented it in 2006 to stem the flow of illegal...
, the ATF operation that sent thousands guns to Mexican drug cartels. Tax money may have been used to purchase the guns Grassley and Issa, "have urged Holder to cooperate and turn over subpoenaed records that would reveal the scope of the government coverup." In October 2011, documents were released that indicated Holder was sent memos in regards to Operation Fast and Furious in 2010, contradicting Holder's sworn testimony before the House Judiciary Committee in which he said he was unaware of Operation Fast and Furious until April 2011. In response, Lamar Smith
Lamar S. Smith
Lamar Seeligson Smith is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1987. The district includes most of the wealthier sections of San Antonio and Austin, as well as nearly all of the Texas Hill Country...
, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to President Obama, requesting the appointment of an independent special counsel to investigate whether Holder committed perjury by lying to the committee while under oath.
More than 40 congressmen have called on Holder to resign because of Fast and Furious.
Holder did not apologize to the family of murdered agent Terry until after congress pressured him to do so.
Personal life
Holder is married to Dr. Sharon Malone, an obstetrician; the couple have three children. Malone's sister was Vivian Malone JonesVivian Malone Jones
Vivian Juanita Malone Jones was an African-American woman, one of the first two African Americans to enroll at the University of Alabama in 1963 and was made famous when Alabama Governor George Wallace blocked them from enrolling at the all-white university.-University of Alabama:On June 11, 1963,...
, famous for her part in the Stand in the Schoolhouse Door
Stand in the Schoolhouse Door
The Stand in the Schoolhouse Door took place at Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama on June 11, 1963. George Wallace, the Governor of Alabama, in a symbolic attempt to keep his inaugural promise of "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever" and stop the desegregation of...
which led to integration at the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
. Holder has been involved with various mentoring programs for inner-city youths. He is also an avid basketball fan.
Awards
In June 2009 the Government of BarbadosGovernment of Barbados
Government of Barbados consists of: The Monarch, HM Queen Elizabeth II ; The Prime Minister, The Hon. Freundel Stuart, and his Cabinet; as legislature, divided into two chambers , and an independent judiciary...
announced that it would begin a project to determine the first 100 Great Barbadians which would be selected among the public of Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
. At the announcement of the project it was announced that Eric Holder was the first candidate to be nominated toward the final list.
On May 16, 2010, Eric Holder presented the commencement address at Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, for both the All-University Ceremony and the School of Law. In addition, he was presented with an Honorary
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
Doctor of Laws degree. On May 19, 2009, Holder was chosen by his alma mater, Columbia College, to be its Class Day Speaker.
External links
- Profile at the United States Department of JusticeUnited States Department of JusticeThe United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
- Answers.com
- Columbia University
- Covington & Burling
- The History Makers
- Homeland Security Policy Institute
- Eric Holder's federal campaign contribution report at NewsMeat
- Holder Speech at Department of Justice African American History Month Program Feb. 18, 2009
- Authenticated text, audio, video of Eric Holder Speech at the Department of Justice African American History Month Program AmericanRhetoric.com
- Attorney General Holder Speech to the African Union Summit July 2010
- Will Eric Holder Be the Anti-Torture Hero? by Andy Worthington, The Huffington Post, July 12, 2009
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