"Eric Holder - It's Time to Go"
Sydney M. Williams
There was a pettiness in the tone of the Attorney General Eric Holder, when on Monday he spun the reversal of how and where to prosecute terrorists. The Justice Department has now opted for the venue initially selected by the Bush administration – military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay, instead of civilian courts in the United States, the initial choice of the Obama administration. Mr. Holder claimed that the decision the administration had come to, and that he was explaining, was wrongheaded. It emanated from a Congress, he explained, determined to thwart his own view that civilian courts within the U.S. were the preferred venue. Congress’ interference, Mr. Holder arrogantly inferred, flew in the face of his superior knowledge: “The reality is, I know this case in ways that members of Congress do not…So, do I know better than them? Yes.” It was a remarkable statement from an appointed official to a group of elected legislators who had unanimously voted for his appointment just over two years ago.
The job of Attorney General combines two roles: that of legal advisor to the president and as the nation’s chief law enforcement officer. The office was established in 1789 (Edmund Randolph of Virginia, George Washington’s neighbor, served as the nation’s first Attorney General.) It was not until 1870 that a Department of Justice was established to support the AG in the discharge of his duties. Historically most, but not all, Attorney Generals have been personally close to the President. The closest, obviously, was Robert Kennedy who served his brother in 1961-1963. Eric Holder and Barack Obama had a relationship, as Mr. Holder served as legal advisor to then Senator Obama is his campaign for the Presidency in 2008.
Many of Mr. Holder’s actions have been controversial. In 1999, as Deputy Attorney General he was the prime mover in getting President Clinton to grant clemency to 16 members of two violent Puerto Rican nationalist organizations (including the notorious FALN), over recommendations from the FBI, federal prosecutors and victims of their crimes. His decision, in late 2009, to treat the Christmas Day bomber Umar Abdulmutallab as a criminal defendant rather than turn him over to the U.S. military as an enemy combatant was bizarre. In early 2010, Eric Holder pledged that the Obama administration would try 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four conspirators in a New York City court. That decision was met with bilateral opposition, led by Senator Charles “Nose to the Polls” Schumer and Mayor Bloomberg. After Major Nidal Malik Hasan shot and killed thirteen service personnel at Fort Hood on November 5, 2009, Eric Holder, in testimony before Congress, a few months later, refused to suggest religion might have played a role in the shootings. This denial was despite Major Hasan’s shouting “Allah Akbar” as he fired his pistol, and despite knowledge of a speech Major Hasan gave in 2007 in which he claimed the War on Terror was in reality a War on Islam. This is taking the concept of political correctness to the realms of Neverland.
Early on as Attorney General, in a bid for openness, Mr. Holder reversed the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) guidelines that had been tightened by Bush Attorney General John Ashcroft following 9/11, guidelines that many felt were too restrictive. However, in doing so, he has been accused of politicizing compliance, providing same-day turn-around for politically connected civil rights groups, while employing delaying tactics for requests by conservative organizations.
As the nation’s first Black Attorney General, Eric Holder was placed in the sensitive position of handling the civil suit originally brought by the Bush administration against the New Black Panther Party for voter intimidation during the 2008 election. Two members of the party had stood outside a Pennsylvania polling station in paramilitary uniforms, one carrying a Billy club, shouting racial epithets at white voters. Upon Mr. Holder’s assumption of office, the charges were dropped for lack of evidence. However, former members of the Department of Justice, including J. Christian Adams who resigned over the issue, have claimed that the real reason had to do with an unwillingness to prosecute minorities for civil rights violations. In a revealing statement, Mr. Holder later said: “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.” He is right; the situations are not the same. There is no question that the position Mr. Holder found himself in was difficult. For decades minorities, especially Blacks, were denied basic rights at polling booths and in everyday life; nevertheless, that does not justify prejudice of any sort from any perspective, especially from an Attorney General whose foremost responsibility is to uphold the law.
Eric Holder, born in Barbados, is an academically brilliant man; he is a graduate of New York’s Stuyvesant High School, Columbia and Columbia Law School. But his judgment has been questionable and, more important he has permitted ideology derail the enforcement of the nation’s laws. His speech on Monday was defensive and hostile – not the characteristics we should want in an Attorney General. The lead editorial in yesterday’s New York Times said the Attorney General was “right to sound bitter about the decision [to use military tribunals, instead of civil courts].” I disagree. It is time for Eric Holder to go.
Thought of the Day
“Eric Holder – It’s Time to Go”
April 6, 2011There was a pettiness in the tone of the Attorney General Eric Holder, when on Monday he spun the reversal of how and where to prosecute terrorists. The Justice Department has now opted for the venue initially selected by the Bush administration – military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay, instead of civilian courts in the United States, the initial choice of the Obama administration. Mr. Holder claimed that the decision the administration had come to, and that he was explaining, was wrongheaded. It emanated from a Congress, he explained, determined to thwart his own view that civilian courts within the U.S. were the preferred venue. Congress’ interference, Mr. Holder arrogantly inferred, flew in the face of his superior knowledge: “The reality is, I know this case in ways that members of Congress do not…So, do I know better than them? Yes.” It was a remarkable statement from an appointed official to a group of elected legislators who had unanimously voted for his appointment just over two years ago.
The job of Attorney General combines two roles: that of legal advisor to the president and as the nation’s chief law enforcement officer. The office was established in 1789 (Edmund Randolph of Virginia, George Washington’s neighbor, served as the nation’s first Attorney General.) It was not until 1870 that a Department of Justice was established to support the AG in the discharge of his duties. Historically most, but not all, Attorney Generals have been personally close to the President. The closest, obviously, was Robert Kennedy who served his brother in 1961-1963. Eric Holder and Barack Obama had a relationship, as Mr. Holder served as legal advisor to then Senator Obama is his campaign for the Presidency in 2008.
Many of Mr. Holder’s actions have been controversial. In 1999, as Deputy Attorney General he was the prime mover in getting President Clinton to grant clemency to 16 members of two violent Puerto Rican nationalist organizations (including the notorious FALN), over recommendations from the FBI, federal prosecutors and victims of their crimes. His decision, in late 2009, to treat the Christmas Day bomber Umar Abdulmutallab as a criminal defendant rather than turn him over to the U.S. military as an enemy combatant was bizarre. In early 2010, Eric Holder pledged that the Obama administration would try 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four conspirators in a New York City court. That decision was met with bilateral opposition, led by Senator Charles “Nose to the Polls” Schumer and Mayor Bloomberg. After Major Nidal Malik Hasan shot and killed thirteen service personnel at Fort Hood on November 5, 2009, Eric Holder, in testimony before Congress, a few months later, refused to suggest religion might have played a role in the shootings. This denial was despite Major Hasan’s shouting “Allah Akbar” as he fired his pistol, and despite knowledge of a speech Major Hasan gave in 2007 in which he claimed the War on Terror was in reality a War on Islam. This is taking the concept of political correctness to the realms of Neverland.
Early on as Attorney General, in a bid for openness, Mr. Holder reversed the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) guidelines that had been tightened by Bush Attorney General John Ashcroft following 9/11, guidelines that many felt were too restrictive. However, in doing so, he has been accused of politicizing compliance, providing same-day turn-around for politically connected civil rights groups, while employing delaying tactics for requests by conservative organizations.
As the nation’s first Black Attorney General, Eric Holder was placed in the sensitive position of handling the civil suit originally brought by the Bush administration against the New Black Panther Party for voter intimidation during the 2008 election. Two members of the party had stood outside a Pennsylvania polling station in paramilitary uniforms, one carrying a Billy club, shouting racial epithets at white voters. Upon Mr. Holder’s assumption of office, the charges were dropped for lack of evidence. However, former members of the Department of Justice, including J. Christian Adams who resigned over the issue, have claimed that the real reason had to do with an unwillingness to prosecute minorities for civil rights violations. In a revealing statement, Mr. Holder later said: “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.” He is right; the situations are not the same. There is no question that the position Mr. Holder found himself in was difficult. For decades minorities, especially Blacks, were denied basic rights at polling booths and in everyday life; nevertheless, that does not justify prejudice of any sort from any perspective, especially from an Attorney General whose foremost responsibility is to uphold the law.
Eric Holder, born in Barbados, is an academically brilliant man; he is a graduate of New York’s Stuyvesant High School, Columbia and Columbia Law School. But his judgment has been questionable and, more important he has permitted ideology derail the enforcement of the nation’s laws. His speech on Monday was defensive and hostile – not the characteristics we should want in an Attorney General. The lead editorial in yesterday’s New York Times said the Attorney General was “right to sound bitter about the decision [to use military tribunals, instead of civil courts].” I disagree. It is time for Eric Holder to go.
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