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This June 6, 2013, file photo shows U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder testifying on Capitol Hill in Washington before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) more >

If theres one thing that Eric Holder regrets during his time as attorney general for the United States, its his failure to press through a Second Amendment crackdown on the heels of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that left 20 children and six adults dead, he said.

I think the inability to pass reasonable gun safety laws after the Newtown massacre is something that weighs heavily on my mind, Mr. Holder said during an interview with CNN.

He was speaking of the White House push to pass a federal background check mandate for all commercial gun sales, as well as an outright ban on so-called assault weapons and large-capacity ammunition magazines, in the wake of the December 2012 school tragedy.

The last of the legislative efforts to fail was a universal background check law that couldnt make it out of the Democrat-controlled Senate. President Obama then announced a slew of executive actions to curb gun rights.

But Mr. Holder still reflected over the stronger legislation that never did pass.

And the thought that we could not translate that horror into reasonable I mean, really reasonable gun safety measures that were supported by the vast majority of the American people is for me something that I take personally as a failure, he said, The Hill reported. And something that I think we as a society should take as a failure a glaring failure that I hope will ultimately be rectified.

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Eric Holder: 'I take personally as a failure' the inability to pass gun control

By Humberto Sanchez Posted at 5 a.m. today

Cruz, left, and Sessions both sit on the Judiciary Committee and will have a change to grill the nominee for attorney general. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Eric H. Holder Jr.s replacement as attorney general will face a grilling from the Senate Judiciary Committee after the elections, with the position key to enabling President Barack Obamas pen-and-phone executive agenda and with numerous hot-button issues under the purview of the Justice Department.

The nominee to replace Deputy Attorney General James Cole, who is also leaving, will also face much the same treatment.

Here are 10 questions the nominees will likely hear:

1. What is the limit of the presidents executive authority on immigration?

The nominee will face questions from senators either just before or just after the president announces sweeping executive action to expand deportation relief to illegal immigrants, a move sure to enrage the GOP.

Many Republicans say the president can not act without Congress, which, under Article I of the Constitution, has authority over immigration. The House has already voted to end the presidents existing program known as DACA deferring deportations for young immigrants brought here illegally.

Expect Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, both members of the Judiciary Committee, to lead the questioning on this front.

2. Will you ignore the federal prohibition on marijuana in states that legalize the drug? Do you support raids on state-licensed medical marijuana operations? Should it be a Schedule I drug?

Continued here:
10 Questions for Eric Holder's Replacement as Attorney General

updated 10:21 AM EDT, Tue October 21, 2014

Washington (CNN) -- The outgoing U.S. attorney general said he is "cautiously optimistic" when it comes to Washington and Colorado's experiment with marijuana legalization.

Eric Holder, who announced last month his plans to retire, is one of President Barack Obama's longest-serving Cabinet members and has faced the delicate task of defining federal policy after a wave of marijuana legalization at the state level across the country.

"We don't want to put into the federal system, low level people who are simply there for possessory offenses," Holder said Monday in an interview with CNN's Evan Perez

Holder last year outlined eight enforcement areas the Justice Department would focus on in a move aimed at calming nerves in Washington and Colorado, the only two states where recreational marijuana is legal.

The eight "priority areas" have focused the Justice Department's efforts on preventing marijuana distribution to minors, inter-state trafficking and drug violence.

But Holder made clear Monday that his agency could change its non-interventionist stance if the states' regulatory frameworks aren't up to snuff.

"What I've told the governors of those states is that if we're not satisfied with their regulatory scheme that we reserve the right to come in and to sue them. So we'll see," Holder said.

The sale and possession of marijuana remains illegal under federal law.

The Justice Department's policy hasn't meant total immunity for marijuana growers and dispensaries in states with both medical and recreation marijuana, where dispensaries and growhouses have since been raided and owners prosecuted.

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Holder "cautiously optimistic" on legal pot

Outgoing U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder thinks former CIA Director Leon Panettas controversial criticisms of President Barack Obama are unfortunate and should have waited until the current president is no longer in office.

Panettas new memoir, Worthy Fights: A Memoir of Leadership in War and Peace, features accusations that the president has damaged U.S. credibility abroad with his foreign policy decisions on situations like the one in Syria.

The former cabinet members harsh words were featured prominently on cable news, and became fodder for conversation over whether the Democrats are fracturing in face of multiple international crises.

In an interview with CNN, airing Monday afternoon, Holder said: I think [what] Leon said in the book is unfortunate. But frankly, I dont think its something that a former Cabinet member should do while the president he served is still in office, Holder said. Thats not something that I would even consider doing.

Holder also asserted that Panettas descriptions of the president are inaccurate.

The president is a deliberate person in an appropriate way. But hes also resolute once he makes up his mind, the attorney general told CNN. Lets remember, this is the president who took a chance in going after Osama bin Laden in the way that he did. He has been decisive in a whole variety of areas to keep the American people safe in doing it in a way thats consistent with our values.

Watch below, via CNN:

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Eric Holder Slams Leon Panetta: His Obama Criticism Is Unfortunate

Expanding Executive Clemency Criteria
Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Justice Department will soon detail new, more expansive criteria that the Department will use in considering when to recommend clemency applications ...

By: TheJusticeDepartment

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Expanding Executive Clemency Criteria - Video