The Eric Holder Thread

It appears that Eric Holder's days as Attorney General may be numbered. Holder is mired in so much conflict now that Obama may have to replace him soon. Even liberals have begun attacking him.

Prominent liberal attorney Turley joins call for Holder to be 'fired'​

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May 29, 2013
One of the country's most prominent liberal legal scholars called Wednesday for Attorney General Eric Holder to be "fired," joining the growing list of left-leaning pundits slamming his department's pursuit of journalists' phone and email records.

Jonathan Turley, an attorney and law professor at George Washington University, hammered Holder in a USA Today column Wednesday. He charged that Holder has "supervised a comprehensive erosion of privacy rights, press freedom and due process," aided by Democrats who looked the other way.

But in the wake of the reporter records scandal, Democrats are starting to join with Republicans in questioning whether Holder continues to be the right man to lead the Department of Justice in President Obama's second term.

Turley, in his column, referenced a recent call by the Republican National Committee chairman for Holder's resignation. "Unlike the head of the RNC, I am neither a Republican nor conservative, and I believe Holder should be fired," Turley wrote.

While Democrats largely defended Holder when his department came under fire for the botched anti-gunrunning sting Operation Fast and Furious, they've been less forgiving over the move this year to seize two months of phone records from Associated Press offices. That bombshell was compounded by the revelation that the department seized phone and email records for Fox News offices. The scandal grew as the department acknowledged Friday that Holder was involved in a court document that accused Fox News reporter James Rosen of being a likely criminal "co-conspirator," as part of the department's successful argument for obtaining a search warrant for Rosen's emails.

According to a report in The Daily Beast, aides say Holder has started to feel regret for the investigations. Under Obama's direction, he is starting a review of DOJ policies and meeting with representatives from the media.

Turley scoffed at this course of action, since Holder was involved in the surveillance -- at least the surveillance involving Fox News -- in the first place. "Such an inquiry offers no reason to trust its conclusions," Turley wrote.
He described Holder as a trusted Obama "sin eater," swallowing the worst criticisms to shield the president.

"Indeed, these sins should be fatal for any attorney general," Turley wrote.

The column follows a call by the liberal-leaning Huffington Post for Holder to go.

House Republicans have also over the past couple of years introduced multiple anti-Holder resolutions, including one now that expresses no confidence in the attorney general.

Arizona Republican Rep. Paul Gosar, sponsor of the most recent resolution, says he has dozens of co-sponsors and that Holder is failing to uphold his constitutional obligations.

On the other side of the aisle, liberal pundit Bill Press has joined in the call to remove Holder, tweeting recently that he should be fired.

Joe Trippi, a Democratic strategist and Fox News contributor, said what makes the recent criticism different from the Republican-led grilling over Fast and Furious, which was linked to the fatal shooting of a U.S. Border Patrol agent, is the bipartisan outcry.

"You're starting to see Democrats join Republicans to call for (Holder's) resignation," Trippi said. "Whenever you see both sides doing that, it means there's real trouble. It doesn't mean he's in trouble of having to be forced out or resigned yet. It means it's a lot more serious than other events he's had to take on."

Holder responded to reports Tuesday that he regrets the subpoenas aimed at journalists, saying, "I'm not satisfied."
He also indicated he's going to have meetings and discussions with members of the media, possibly as soon as this week.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/05/29/prominent-liberal-attorney-turley-joins-call-for-holder-to-be-fired/#ixzz2UhISZdHj​

 

House Judiciary panel launches official probe into whether Holder lied​

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May 29, 2013​

The top two Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee have initiated an investigation into whether Attorney General Eric Holder lied under oath during his May 15 testimony on the Justice Department’s (DOJ) surveillance of reporters.​

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Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Rep. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.), the chairman of the subcommittee on investigations, sent a letter to Holder on Wednesday detailing specific aspects of his testimony that they say conflicts with subsequent media reports about Holder’s involvement in the surveillance of James Rosen, a reporter for Fox News.​

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“The media reports and statements issued by the Department regarding the search warrants for Mr. Rosen’s emails appear to be at odds with your sworn testimony before the Committee,” the letter reads in part.​

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“We believe — and we hope you will agree — it is imperative that the Committee, the Congress, and the American people be provided a full and accurate account of your involvement in and approval of these search warrants.”​

The Hill first reported of the pending investigation on Tuesday.​

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The panel is looking at a statement Holder made during an exchange with Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) about whether the DOJ could prosecute reporters under the Espionage Act of 1917.​

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“In regard to potential prosecution of the press for the disclosure of material — this is not something I’ve ever been involved in, heard of, or would think would be wise policy,” Holder said at the time.​

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Media reports later found that Holder personally approved a search warrant that labeled Rosen a co-conspirator in a national security leaks case.​

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The panel is investigating whether the reports contradict Holder’s claim that he had not looked into or been involved with a possible prosecution of the press in a leaks case.​

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“How can you claim to have never been involved in the potential prosecution of a member of the media but you were admittedly involved in discussions regarding Mr. Rosen’s email?” the letter asks. “How can you claim to have never even heard of the potential prosecution of the press but were, at a minimum, involved in discussions regarding Mr. Rosen?”​

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The committee is seeking all regulations and internal Justice Department policies governing the issuance of search warrants for members of the media.​

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The DOJ has said it never intended to prosecute Rosen. The lawmakers’ letter asks Holder why the search warrant though identified the reporter as a “co-conspirator.”​

Sensenbrenner has already called for Holder to resign, and said if he fails to do so, President Obama should fire him.​

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Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, told The Hill that Holder was “forthright” with the panel and that there was “no need to turn a policy disagreement into allegations of misconduct.”​

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Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/302337-house-judiciary-panel-opens-probe-of-holder-in-reporter-surveillance-case#ixzz2UiZuF7H0 ​

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I hope he goes and goes directly to jail.

 

Zimmerman?

 

Just kidding.

 

He's just a corporate shill. The Obama administration has plenty. If he gets the boot I expect that his place will be filled by another corporate shill. And life goes on. It's fun to watch the Republicans frothing at the mouth though.

 

Personally, I think it's criminal to constantly drag people in front of Congress solely to attempt to find a "Gotcha!" comment to use as a legal basis for removing a political opponent.

It's corruption, and I wouldn't change my opinion on that when the Democrats do it.

McCarthy used similar tactics.

If I was Holder, I'd berate them on those points non-stop, as part of my "testimony", much like Clinton did when she was paraded in front of the losers.

 

Congress is the most vocal of the corruption-riddled government. We, the people, should remove them, but we can't legally, except by voting. Even then, the newcomers to DC are ignored, if they go against party-politics. They're expected to follow the leaders and shut up. That's corrupt.

 

They'll end up eating themselves. We just have to give them time to do it. The Seven Deadly Sins are not a very good basis for a system of government.

 

(walking toward back of house, barking in background steadily becomes louder)...Sorry, but I don't wanna wait...(to son, standing near kennel)...Release the hounds!

Oh wait, we don't have a kennel. Or dogs.

Chit.

I guess it's your plan then lol

 

Will he not collect $200?

 

I am sure he has collected that many times over.

 

But when you go directly to jail, do you not pass Go?

 

Just what the hell is wrong with holding these meetings on-the-record? Isn't Obama's administration supposed to be "the most transparent" etc., etc.?

Holder runs into roadblocks on off-the-record meetings with news organizations​

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May 30, 2013​

Attorney General Eric Holder is running into early resistance from news organizations as he tries to hold meetings with their Washington bureau chiefs over his department's surveillance of reporters -- with the organizations balking at Holder's attempt to keep the sessions off the record. ​

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Holder, who agreed to conduct a review of DOJ guidelines over investigations that involve journalists, has set up meetings with members of the media for Thursday and Friday. Fox News was invited to the Friday session at Justice Department headquarters in Washington, though hasn't yet decided whether to attend. ​

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The department, though, wants the meetings to be off the record, meaning the discussions would not be reportable. ​

The Associated Press issued a statement saying it wants any meeting to be on the record, meaning it could be the subject of news stories. And The New York Times said it won't attend because of the department's off-the-record ground rules. ​

Both the Associated Press and Fox News had their phone records pulled by the Justice Department, in the course of two separate leak investigations. The department went a step further in the Fox News case, seizing the personal emails of correspondent James Rosen, while accusing him of being a criminal "co-conspirator" in the application for the search warrant. ​

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The AP raised early questions about the terms for this week's meetings. ​

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AP media relations manager Erin Madigan White said that if the session is not on the record, the news cooperative will offer its views in an open letter on how Justice Department regulations should be updated. ​

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If the AP's meeting with the attorney general is on the record, AP Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll will attend, White said. She said AP expects its attorneys to be included in any planned meetings between the attorney general's office and media lawyers on the legal specifics. ​

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New York Times Executive Editor Jill Abramson said in a statement: "It isn't appropriate for us to attend an off the record meeting with the attorney general. Our Washington bureau is aggressively covering the department's handling of leak investigations at this time." ​

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The Huffington Post also announced it would not attend the meeting at DOJ headquarters. CNN similarly said it would not attend an off-record meeting, but would agree to go if the attorney general made the session on the record. ​

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Politico's editor-in-chief, John Harris, though, said on Thursday that he would attend. ​

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The planned meetings are to take place over the coming weeks. The department said Holder plans to engage with news media organizations, including print media, wire services, radio, television, online media and news and trade associations. Discussions are to include news media executives and general counsels as well as government experts in intelligence and investigative agencies. ​

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The meetings come as Holder faces intense scrutiny from lawmakers over his May 15 testimony in which he claimed to be unaware of any "potential prosecution" of the press, despite knowing about the investigation that targeted Fox News' James Rosen. ​

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House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and Rep. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., R-Wis., voiced "great concern" in a letter to Holder on Wednesday, asking a number of questions about the department's dealings with the press, and alleging that the Fox News case "contradicts" his testimony at the hearing two weeks ago. ​

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The committee confirmed earlier this week it was looking into Holder's testimony. Appearing before the House Judiciary Committee, Holder insisted that "the potential prosecution of the press for the disclosure of material" is not something he was involved in or knew about. ​

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It emerged days later that the Justice Department obtained access to Rosen's emails -- after filing an affidavit that accused him of being a likely criminal "co-conspirator" in the leak of sensitive material regarding North Korea. Rosen was never charged, and never prosecuted. But he was effectively accused of violating the federal Espionage Act. ​

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White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said on Wednesday that it appears Holder testified truthfully. He said President Obama "absolutely" has confidence in him. ​

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Obama has asked Holder to report to him on any recommended policy changes on Justice Department investigations involving reporters by July 12.​

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Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/05/30/holder-runs-into-roadblocks-on-off-record-meetings-on-scandals/#ixzz2UmiRFp3X​

 

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In Milton Bradley's fantasy world, you do not pass go. However, I suspect he is more into Bernie Madoff's fantasy world.

 

I think BO & Holder are co-conspirators in some of these crimes...if BO dumps Holder like he dumped Jeremiah Wright, Holder will sing like a bird!

 

Alleged crimes. As with that old fool Mc-who-gives-a-poop, who may have committed a crime himself. Holder, or Congress, should investigate that, don't you agree?

 

To which I quote you:

http://www.partisanlines.com/threads/u-s-diplomats-killed-in-libya.4604/page-12

 

I think McCain should follow the BO admin precedent & plead the 5th...then hold an off-the-record briefing. This seems to satisfy democRats these days, right?