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Apr. 10, 2014

House Republicans formally ask Attorney Gen Eric H Holder Jr to begin a criminal investigation of Lois Lerner, the former Internal Revenue Service official caught up in the scandal over political targeting of Tea Party groups.MORE

Atty Gen Eric H Holder Jr's long-awaited revisions to the Justice Dept's racial profiling rules would expand the definition of prohibited profiling to include not just race, but religion, national origin, gender and sexual orientation; however, they do not change how Federal Bureau of Investigation uses that information for national security purposes.MORE

Atty Gen Eric H Holder Jr makes a high-profile visit to New York City to meet with federal prosecutors who won the conviction of Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, former top aide to Osama bin Laden; he forcefully reiterates at a news conference his view that case proves terrorism trials can occur safely in the city.MORE

Editorial applauds Atty Gen Eric Holder Jr's announcement of new requirements for federally financed halfway houses, part of his aggressive push for reform in criminal justice system; submits that even better solution may be to send fewer low-risk offenders to prison in first place.MORE

Attorney General Eric H Holder Jr says that federal government will recognize more than 300 same-sex marriages that were performed in Michigan; announcement caps a period of rapid change and legal uncertainty over status of same-sex marriage in the state.MORE

Atty Gen Eric H Holder Jr is endorsing proposal that would reduce prison sentences for people convicted of dealing drugs, latest sign of Obama administration's retrenchment in the so-called war on drugs; United States Sentencing Commission had proposed changing federal guidelines to lessen average sentence by about one year, to 51 months from 62 months.MORE

Atty Gen Eric H Holder Jr and libertarian-leaning Republicans find common cause on eliminating mandatory minimum prison sentences for nonviolent drug offenders.MORE

Justice Department says Atty Gen Eric H Holder Jr was taken to the hospital after experiencing faintness and shortness of breath at a meeting.MORE

Atty Gen Eric H Holder Jr declares that state attorneys general who believe laws banning same-sex marriage are discriminatory are not obligated to defend them; statement prompts criticism from Republicans who say attorneys general have duty to stand behind their state laws, even if they do not agree with them; Holder's highly unusual assertion thrusts Obama administration into center of emotional debate.MORE

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Eric Holder News - The New York Times

Attorney General Eric Holder says its too soon to tell whether or not the legalization of marijuana in Washington and Colorado has been, on-net, a good or bad thing for the states. But he was willing to say that he remains cautiously optimistic about the ultimate results.

I think its hard to tell, Holder said of what laws regarding marijuana in the U.S. will look like in 10 years.

I think there might have been a burst of feeling that what happened in Washington and Colorado was going to be soon replicated across the country, he continued. Im not sure that is necessarily the case. I think a lot of states are going to be looking to see what happens in Washington, what happens in Colorado before those decisions are made in substantial parts of the country.

Despite his refusal to offer an early verdict, however, Holder said that what hes heard and seen thus far from Colorado and Washington has been mostly in-line with his expectations.

But I think, so far, Im cautiously optimistic, Holder went on to say. But as I indicated to both governors, we will be monitoring the progress of those efforts and if we conclude that they are not being done in an appropriate way, we reserve our rights to file lawsuits.

Holder also spoke of his earlier experience with laws concerning pot, specifically his time as a judge tasked with handing down sentences related to the drug. Ill tell you, as a former judge, I had to put in jail substantial numbers of young people for possessory drug offenses, Holder said, and it was not from the perspective I had as a judge necessarily a good use of law enforcement resources.

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Asked about his own personal history with marijuana, Holder told HuffPost he used pot in college and had characterized it as youthful experimentation in background checks for various federal nominations.

Yeah, I certainly have said in my four, five, whatever number confirmation hearings Ive had that you fill out the forms, that I had youthful experimentation I think was the phrase that we were told to use when I was in college, Holder said.

Holder also acknowledged the Obama administration has made the political decision not to unilaterally reschedule marijuana by taking it off the list of what the federal government considers the most dangerous drugs, though that is something the attorney general has the authority to do. Instead, Holder has said DOJwould be willing to work with Congressif they want to reschedule marijuana, which doesnt seem likely to happen in the near future.

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Eric Holder: Im cautiously optimistic about legal pot in Washington and Colorado

April 8, 2014: Attorney General Eric Holder testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

When Eric Holder became attorney general in 2009, he declared that when it comes to discussing race, we have become a nation of cowards.

Now theres plenty of discussion of race, some of it swirling around Holder himself.

In recent days, conservative critics have accused Holder of playing the race card to deflect criticismwhile his liberal allies believe some of that criticism is racially motivated. It reflects a classic cultural divide in this country and in the media establishment.

Just days ago, I was questioning whether New York Magazine went too far in proclaiming that everything about the Obama presidency was somehow colored by race. The argument this time is over whos responsible.

What set off the racial fireworks was a Hill confrontation between the nations first black attorney general and Rep. Louie Gohmert, who cited the House holding him in contempt two years ago over the Fast and Furious gun-running scandal.

I realize that contempt is not a big deal to our attorney general but it is important that we have proper oversight, Gohmert said.

You don't want to go there, buddy, Holder shot back.

Holder was steamed, and in a speech the next day to Al Sharptons National Action Network, it showed.

Decrying unprecedented, unwarranted, ugly and divisive adversity, Holder said: If you don`t believe that, you look at the way -- forget about me, forget about me. You look at the way the attorney general of the United States was treated yesterday by a house committee. Have nothing to do with me. What attorney general has ever had to deal with that kind of treatment? What president has ever had to deal with that kind of treatment?

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Eric Holder and the Race Card: The issue the media can't resist

A veteran Justice Department lawyer says that Attorney General Eric Holder has politicized the department in a way he hadnt seen before. In short, Holder is the worst person to hold the position of attorney general since the disgraced John Mitchell.

Now in his sixth year as attorney general, Holder has increasingly tilted the department in an ideological direction. Its one thing to emphasize President Obamas legal priorities. Its quite another to decide not to enforce certain federal laws such as the ban on marijuana or urge state attorney generals to refuse to defend local laws on same-sex marriage. Legal changes are achieved through legislation, not through a sudden whim not to enforce them. No other attorney general has acted in this manner.

Holder clearly believes he has the inherent power to politicize his department. When House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte asked him last week whether he believed there were any limits to the administrations prosecutorial discretion. There is a vast amount of discretion that a president has and more specifically that an attorney general has, Holder responded.

But courts have frequently disagreed with Holders interpretations of the law. Just last week, a US District Court judge issued an order denying Justices request for veto power over school-choice scholarships awarded to students by the state of Louisiana. Justice had sued Louisiana last August seeking an injunction to stop it from distributing school vouchers to kids seeking to escape failing schools using the pretext of decades-old desegregation orders. Justices action is pure politics, driven by the fact that Democrats are beholden to teachers unions.

Justices ideological zealotry is on display across a host of other issues.

It stopped asking states that accepted federal funds for election machine upgrades to comply with provisions requiring them to clean up their voter rolls. It used a radical interpretation of civil-rights laws to sue school districts over dress codes. It launched an unprecedented crusade against government leaks by targeting The Associated Press and Fox News James Rosen while at the same time it refused to pursue any leaks of classified material that likely came from the White House and were clearly intended to burnish the presidents image.

Last week, Congress recommended that Holders office pursue a criminal investigation against Lois Lerner, the IRS official who admitted that conservative groups were targeted for added scrutiny. Lerner has repeatedly taken the Fifth even as she proclaims her innocence.

But does anyone believe the attorney general will seriously investigate this?

Of course, when you call Holder out on his biases and selective enforcement, he cries racism.

Last Tuesday, Holder appeared before the House Judiciary Committee for an oversight hearing. He got into a stormy exchange with Rep. Louie Gohmert, a Texas Republican and a former chief justice of the Texas Court of Appeals. Gohmert had read a Fifth Circuit court opinion noting how Justice had made available 9,600 summaries of transcripts of sensitive conversations to attorneys for the terrorists.

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For Attorney General Eric Holder, Justice is for Democrats only

April 8, 2014: Attorney General Eric Holder testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

A Republican lawmaker has introduced legislation that would cut off pay to Attorney General Eric Holder and other federal officials who have been held in contempt of Congress.

Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, introduced the"Contempt Act" on Tuesday, less than a week after alluding to the measure during a contentious House Judiciary Committee hearing where Holder faced criticism from GOP lawmakers.

"The American people should not be footing the bill for federal employees who stonewall Congress or rewarding government officials bad behavior," Farenthold said in a statement. "If the average American failed to do his or her job, he or she would hardly be rewarded."

Under the proposal, the contempt resolution would have to be adopted by either the House or Senate for the official to lose their pay. The GOP-led House voted in 2012 to hold Holder in contempt for failing to provide key information on Operation Fast and Furious.

The House Oversight Committee voted last week to hold former Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner in contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions at a pair of hearings about the agency's political targeting scandal.

Farenthold's bill would not apply to Lerner, who retired last fall.

"While Ms. Lerner has since retired from the IRS, my bill will at least prevent current and future federal employees, like [Holder], from continuing to collect their taxpayer-paid salaries while held in contempt of Congress," Farenthold said.

The contempt measure against Lerner heads next to the House floor. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, predicted last week that unless Lerner agrees to cooperate with the targeting scandal probe, the full House will support contempt.

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GOP legislation would cut off Holder's salary