Mediaboss Marketing

Attorney General Eric Holder. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Outgoing Attorney GeneralEric Holderhit back this weekat Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans who had hammered him (in absentia) throughout last weeks confirmation hearings on his likely successor, Loretta Lynch.

Holder, speaking at a news conference Tuesday to announce a$1.4 billion settlement of a lawsuit alleging Standard and Poors Financial Services tried to defraud investors, went way, way, off message at the end of the event.

This notion, he said, that under his watch this Justice Department has been politicized is totally inconsistent with the facts. You want to look at a politicized Justice Department, you look at the one I inherited, all right? You look at the way in which hiring was done here for political reasons.

Holder said his team had to rebuild this department and that it was a little irresponsible for Hill folks to characterize honest policy differences as political.

This will, of course, be one of Holders last news conferences at the department. Barring some major surprise, Lynch is expected to be approved by the committee the last week in February, with Senate confirmation likely the first or second week in March.

But Holders not going to be lounging around in his fifthfloor office, taking in the view. Oh no, hes off Thursday to sunny Oakland, Calif. for a Building Community Trust roundtable with local and federal officials in the morning. He then meets with students and police officers and tours the Willie Mays Boys and Girls Club in San Francisco.

Then, on Friday, he will be in Pasadena, Calif. to receivea major award at the 46th NAACP Image Awards that evening. Its a true Hollywood star-studded event, with folks like Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne, David Oyelowo, Kerry Washington and, yes, Oprah, expected to be there.

(Talk about heavy lifting.)

RELATED: Loretta Lynch assures GOP she is not Eric Holder, again and again

Original post:
In the Loop: Departing Eric Holder blasts Senate Judiciary Republicans

Day Two of Loretta Lynchs AG Confirmation Hearing Focuses on Eric Holder
Aired January 29, 2015 on NY1 Time Warner Cable News stations) The confirmation hearing for attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch continued for a second ...

By: Geoff Bennett

Link:
Day Two of Loretta Lynchs AG Confirmation Hearing Focuses on Eric Holder - Video

World News Videos | ABC World NewsCopy

In what was likely one of his last news conferences as head of the Justice Department, outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder today accused Republican critics of being a little irresponsible last week during Senate hearings to vet his likely replacement.

He said many of the questions posed to nominee Loretta Lynch and other witnesses over two days were not particularly relevant to Lynchs qualifications, and a notion that somehow or another this Justice Department has been politicized seemed to permeate that hearing both the first day and the second day.

In a more light-hearted moment from last weeks hearing, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, asked Lynch: "You're not Eric Holder, are you?"

"No, I'm not," Lynch assured Cornyn with a small laugh. "I will be myself. I will be Loretta Lynch [if confirmed.]"

Cornyn said Holder's record has weighed "heavily" on some of his fellow senators' minds, insisting Holder was "openly contentious" toward Republican lawmakers, "stonewalled legitimate" oversight investigations, and "harassed" states that passed laws requiring certain forms of identification for voters to cast ballots in elections.

But before beginning his remarks today announcing a major financial settlement in Washington, Holder took the opportunity to fire back.

Good morning. And for the record, I am Eric Holder, mocking Cornyns question.

When a reporter noted that last weeks hearing seemed to become a referendum on Holder, not Lynch, Holder shot back sarcastically: Ya think?

I think its a little irresponsible for people on the Hill to say that policy differences that we have with them or decisions that we have made that are not consistent with the way they view the world can be characterized as political, Holder added. There is no politicization of this Justice Department. Im proud of the work that weve done over the past six years, the historic things that we have done, and I would hope that the American people would not fall prey to interesting soundbites that simply are inconsistent with facts.

Read this article:
Outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder Takes Parting Shot ...

World News Videos | ABC World NewsCopy

In what was likely one of his last news conferences as head of the Justice Department, outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder today accused Republican critics of being a little irresponsible last week during Senate hearings to vet his likely replacement.

He said many of the questions posed to nominee Loretta Lynch and other witnesses over two days were not particularly relevant to Lynchs qualifications, and a notion that somehow or another this Justice Department has been politicized seemed to permeate that hearing both the first day and the second day.

In a more light-hearted moment from last weeks hearing, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, asked Lynch: "You're not Eric Holder, are you?"

"No, I'm not," Lynch assured Cornyn with a small laugh. "I will be myself. I will be Loretta Lynch [if confirmed.]"

Cornyn said Holder's record has weighed "heavily" on some of his fellow senators' minds, insisting Holder was "openly contentious" toward Republican lawmakers, "stonewalled legitimate" oversight investigations, and "harassed" states that passed laws requiring certain forms of identification for voters to cast ballots in elections.

But before beginning his remarks today announcing a major financial settlement in Washington, Holder took the opportunity to fire back.

Good morning. And for the record, I am Eric Holder, mocking Cornyns question.

When a reporter noted that last weeks hearing seemed to become a referendum on Holder, not Lynch, Holder shot back sarcastically: Ya think?

I think its a little irresponsible for people on the Hill to say that policy differences that we have with them or decisions that we have made that are not consistent with the way they view the world can be characterized as political, Holder added. There is no politicization of this Justice Department. Im proud of the work that weve done over the past six years, the historic things that we have done, and I would hope that the American people would not fall prey to interesting soundbites that simply are inconsistent with facts.

Read the original here:
Holder Takes Parting Shot at GOP

Attorney General Eric Holder defended his legacy Tuesday as he announced a $1.37 billion deal to settle allegations that Standard & Poors Ratings Services issued inflated ratings for mortgage bonds ahead of the financial crisis.

He began the event with a sly reference to last weeks confirmation hearing of his would-be successor, Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch. Asked repeatedly by Republican senators how shed be different from Mr. Holder, a frequent target of their ire, she deflected by saying: Im Loretta Lynch. She didnt disavow Mr. Holder, but she didnt defend him either.

So when Mr. Holder stepped up to the podium, he said: For the record, I am Eric Holder.

And as he announced the S&P deal, which could be the last major settlement of his tenure related to the financial crisis, he touted his departments record of punishing conduct that contributed to the crisis. His remarks seemed aimed at rebutting criticism that the Justice Departments approach has been too lax.

We have been aggressive in working to address every part of the financial system that contributed to the crisis, Mr. Holder said, noting that Tuesday marked the six-year anniversary of his taking office. We have never hesitated to investigate and prosecute any individual, institution or organization that attempted to exploit our markets and take advantage of the American people.

Mr. Holder still has some unfinished business hed like to wrap up before he leaves. He plans to stay in office until a successor is confirmed, which likely wont happen until late February at the earliest. He said Tuesday that he hopes to make announcements regarding civil rights investigations into the killings of unarmed young black men by Florida neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman and Ferguson, Mo., police officer Darren Wilson before he leaves office. He also said he expects results of a long-running probe into the Internal Revenue Services alleged targeting of conservative groups relatively soon.

Mr. Holder later defended his legacy against a charge leveled repeatedly by Republicans during Ms. Lynchs hearing and throughout his tenure: that under Mr. Holder, the Justice Department has been a political arm of President Barack Obamas White House and that the attorney general has been too close to the president.

This notion that somehow this Justice Department has been politicized is totally inconsistent with the facts, he said. If you want to look at a politicized Justice Department, you look at the one that I inherited. You look at the way in which hiring was done for political reasons, you look at all the other things that we had to deal with to rebuild this department that I grew up and that I love.

He said hes leaving behind a department with high morale and integrity.

I think its a little irresponsible for people on the Hill to say that policy differences that we have with them or that decisions that we have made that are not consistent with how they view the world can be characterized as political, he said. Theres no politicization of this Justice Department. Im proud of the work that weve done over the past six years, the historic things that we have done and I would hope that the American people would not fall prey to interesting sound bites that simply are inconsistent with the facts.

Read more here:
Eric Holder Speaks About Eric Holder