Larry Elder Excoriates the Ferguson Issue after Eric Holder #39;s Report
A magic 50-minutes with Larry Elder. He weaves the reality that the Left can only weave -- and that is this: the bankruptcy of and the consequences of the "state" [statist ideology] that...
By: Papa Giorgio
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Larry Elder Excoriates the Ferguson Issue after Eric Holder's Report - Video
Eric Holder in Selma: #39;We will march on #39;
Speaking at a church service commemorating the 50th anniversary of #39;Bloody Sunday #39; in Selma, Alabama, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder pledged to keep fighting for equality and urged fellow...
By: USA TODAY
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Eric Holder in Selma: 'We will march on' - Video
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FILE - In this Feb. 11, 2015 file photo, Attorney General Eric Holder speaks to law enforcement officers and guests in the Old Executive Office Building on the White House Complex in Washington. The share of federal drug offenders who received harsh mandatory minimum sentences has plunged in the past year, according to figures obtained by The Associated Press that Holder plans to cite Tuesday in arguing for the success of his criminal justice policies. Experts credit Holder for helping raise sentencing policy as a public issue, but they also say it's hard to gauge how much of the impact is directly attributable to his actions. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) Federal prosecutors are changing the way drug defendants are charged and punished, Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday, unveiling statistics that show sentences are increasingly being based less on rigid formulas and more on the circumstances of each crime.
It's a signature issue for Holder's legacy as he prepares to leave the Justice Department in a matter of weeks as its first African American attorney general.
New data compiled by the U.S. Sentencing Commission show a shift over the last year in which prosecutors steer away from seeking the harshest punishments for low-level drug offenders and redirect their resources to go after more violent criminals.
The figures show federal prosecutors pursued mandatory minimum punishments in roughly 51 percent of drug cases, the lowest rate on record, in the year that ended last September. That was down from 64 percent the year before.
Overall, the number of federal drug trafficking prosecutions dropped by 6 percent during the same period, which Holder said was proof that prosecutors are getting pickier in the federal cases they bring.
"The changes that we have implemented are firmly taking hold," Holder said in a speech at the National Press Club. "And our key reforms appear to be successful by every measure that we have taken and that we have seen so far."
For decades, law enforcement authorities have measured success by the numbers of convictions and the length of prison terms, an approach seen as particularly useful during the 1980s-era crack epidemic. In keeping with that stance, a 2003 memo from then-Attorney General John Ashcroft directed prosecutors to charge the most serious provable crime against defendants.
But in six years as attorney general, Holder sought limits on long drug sentences as a matter of fairness and cost and promoted a sentencing regime based more on the facts of a case and less on formulas. A key goal was to help limit an overcrowded prison population bloated with drug offenders.
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Holder argues for success of drug sentencing policies
WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Loretta Lynch is due to replace Eric Holder as attorney general, but her confirmation vote has been delayed until March.
It's no secret that Republicans are not fond of Holder, so why are the right-wing conservatives still holding on to him?
Lynch needs at least four votes from Republican senators to become Holder's official replacement, but it appears they are still on the fence with Lynch when it comes to certain critical issues such as immigration. Republicans want for Lynch to disapprove Obama's executive action on immigration -- currently one of the hottest debates in Washington.
Holder said in a National Press Club speech he doesn't understand why the transition is taking so long. He expressed surprise that Republicans aren't in a hurry to see him out of office, adding that "logic's never necessarily a guide up there."
Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, posted on Twitter on Tuesday that Lynch would be a worse choice for the position that Holder.
"The Senate must not confirm Loretta Lynch 4 AG. Even Eric Holder is better. Lynch is in contempt of the Constitution," he said.
The Hill reported Tuesday that Republicans are also concerned with Lynch's attachment to the White House and want her to demonstrate "that she can be independent."
"What we're trying to do is get an indication from her of the independence that she's going to have from the White House," Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told The Hill, adding that he thought Holder is "running the Justice Department like a wing of the White House."
Republicans such as Grassley and Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona support Lynch's nomination and noted her impeccable accomplishments as federal prosecutor, a role that solidified Lynch's tough but fair reputation in court.
Lynch has gained universal support from Democrats, who are urging Republicans to stop stalling the hearings.
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Eric Holder doesn't understand why he still has a job
Attorney General Eric Holder says the U.S. government is "working on" ways to capture or kill the man known as "Jihadi John," an Islamic State extremist who has appeared in several hostage-beheading videos.
Reports Thursday revealed the masked "Jihadi John" to be Mohammed Emwazi, a west London man who had been detained by counterterror officials in Britain at least once, in 2010.
"The vow that I can make to the American people, along with our allies, is that we will hold accountable all of the people who have been responsible for these heinous, barbaric acts," Holder told ABC News in an interview. "That is something that we are focused on each and every day."
Holder would not confirm reports identifying Emwazi as the ISIS militant. He insisted that nothing would be "served" by outing him.
But Holder did note that the government has been "thinking about" and "working on" ways to either kill or capture "Jihadi John."
"I think there is something to be said for holding accountable [and] getting at the people who are responsible for these barbaric acts," Holder told ABC News.
The Washington Post first reported Emwazi was the likely ISIS propagandist on Thursday, citing friends and human rights workers familiar with the case. Two U.S. government sources who spoke to Reuters Thursday confirmed that investigators believe the man is Emwazi.
Sky News obtained an exclusive photo of Emwazi -- with a goatee beard and wearing a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball cap -- from when he was a student at the University of Westminster in London.
According to The Washington Post and the BBC, Emwazi was born in Kuwait and studied computer programming at the University of Westminster. The university confirmed that a student of that name graduated in 2009.
"If these allegations are true, we are shocked and sickened by the news," the university said in a statement.
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Holder says US 'working on' how to capture or kill 'Jihadi John'