Eric Holder noticeably absent from Paris unity rally
Eric Holder noticeably absent from Paris unity rally Like Please .Je suis Charlie? Not the US. More than a million people flooded Paris in an unprecedented r...
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Eric Holder noticeably absent from Paris unity rally - Video
Paris Terror Victims Weren #39;t Black, So Eric Holder Didn #39;t Bother to Attend Rally WHILE THERE!
By: NFriction
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Paris Terror Victims Weren't Black, So Eric Holder Didn't Bother to Attend Rally WHILE THERE! - Video
Attorney General Eric Holder Bans Asset Seizure by Local Police
Attorney General Eric Holder Bans Asset Seizure by Local Police Depts. Courtesy of Reuters press release http://news.yahoo.com/u-attorney-general-bans-asset-...
By: Me The People Perspectives
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Attorney General Eric Holder Bans Asset Seizure by Local Police - Video
This month, Attorney General Eric Holder issued a memo establishing a new policy aimed at civil asset forfeiture reform.
The new policy, effective immediately, prohibits federal agencies from accepting or "adopting" property seized by state and local law enforcement unless the owner is convicted of a crime.
The practice of seizing a persons property without evidence of a crime has been around since the height of the drug war, when Congress turned the federal civil asset forfeiture law into a weapon against the illicit drug trade.
The program was meant to take a guy out for selling $1 million in cocaine or who was trying to launder large amounts of money, said Mark Overton, a police chief who once oversaw a federal drug task force in South Florida. It was never meant for a street cop to take a few thousand dollars from a driver by the side of the road.
But under the federal governments Equitable Sharing Program, state and local law enforcement have a strong incentive to seize property, whether or not there is proof of wrongdoing. Under the program, which was established in the 1980s, the proceeds of liquidated seized assets are shared between state and federal law enforcement. State and local authorities are allowed to keep up to 80% of the proceeds of adopted seizures, with the rest going to federal agencies.
The programs clear conflict of interest has come under intense scrutiny. A 2014 report by the Washington Post revealed that "hundreds of state and local departments and drug task forces appear to rely on seized cash." The Post found that local and state police routinely pulled over drivers for minor traffic infractions, pressed them to agree to warrantless searches and seized large amount of cash without evidence of wrongdoing.
As a result, the Justice Departments federal forfeitures fund increased from $27 million in 1985 to $556 million in 1993. By 2007, it had reached $2.6 billion.
When police make a seizure, they can bring it to a federal agency, which can approve or adopt it under the Equitable Sharing Program. State and local law enforcement can continue to seize assets under their own state laws, even after Holder's announcement of the new policy, but Equitable Sharing is the preferred, easier, and more profitable route.
Holders announcement is a step toward civil asset forfeiture reform, but it does not mean an end to the abuse of the practice, says ReasonSenior Editor Jacob Sullum, citing the DOJ memo which states, The new policy applies only to adoptions, not to seizures resulting from joint operations involving both federal and state authorities, or to seizures pursuant to warrants issued by federal courts.
In other words, state and local law enforcement can still partner with federal agents through joint task forces for forfeitures not permitted under state law.
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Eric Holder Takes Step Toward Disincentivizing Drug War ...
Republican lawmakers plan to grill U.S. attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch on Wednesday on everything from her position on President Obamas immigration amnesty to how she would pursue the Justice Departments investigation into the IRS targeting of tea party groups.
Mostly Republican senators want to ask whether she would follow in the footsteps of Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., who has used his perch to push an activist agenda on gun control and voting rights, while defending Mr. Obamas expansive claims of executive powers to alter Obamacare, launch a war in Libya and grant tentative legal status to illegal immigrants.
I met with Ms. Lynch earlier this month and didnt get any straight answers from her. She needs to be completely forthright with the committee about her support for some of President Obamas most dangerous policies, including executive amnesty, said Sen. David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican who will be among the Judiciary Committee members questioning Ms. Lynch.
SEE ALSO: Anti-porn activists seek enforcement pledge from Loretta Lynch
Senators are worried that Ms. Lynch, who would become the nations first black female attorney general, has too many similarities to Mr. Holder, who has had an adversarial relationship with the legislative branch.
In 2012, Mr. Holder became the first sitting Cabinet member to be held in contempt of Congress for not providing key information to the House of Representatives during their investigation into the Fast and Furious gunrunning scandal.
The main question is whether shes planning on being the next Eric Holder, said a Senate Republican aide who requested anonymity to speak frankly about the confirmation hearing.
SEE ALSO: Uncomfortable questions for Loretta Lynch
Republican senators are eager to find out whether Ms. Lynch considers Mr. Obamas executive amnesty, which aims to shield as many as 5 million illegal immigrants from deportation, within the confines of the Constitution.
The attorney general is one of the linchpins to Obamas amnesty plan, and Congress has a responsibility to stop it, said Mr. Vitter. If you believe that President Obamas actions are illegal or unconstitutional through executive amnesty, then you need to oppose his attorney general nomination.
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Loretta Lynch similarities to Eric Holder a red flag for Republicans