Obama chooses Holder to serve as AG

[cali]

President-elect Obama has decided to tap Eric Holder as his attorney general, putting the veteran Washington lawyer in place to become the first African-American to head the Justice Department, according to two legal sources close to the presidential transition.

Holder, who served as deputy attorney general during the Clinton administration, still has to undergo a formal “vetting” review by the Obama transition team before the selection is final and is publicly announced, said one of the sources, who asked not to be identified talking about the transition process. But in the discussions over the past few days, Obama offered Holder the job and he accepted, the source said. The announcement is not likely until after Obama announces his choices to lead the Treasury and State departments.

Holder, 57, has been on Obama’s “short list” for attorney general from the outset. A partner at the D.C. law firm of Covington & Burling, Holder served as co-chief (along with Caroline Kennedy) of Obama’s vice-presidential selection process. He also actively campaigned for Obama throughout the year and grew personally close to the president-elect. Holder has not returned a call seeking comment; the Obama transition team did not respond to e-mail messages.

The sources said the Obama transition team is still debating over who should serve under Holder in the key post of deputy attorney general. One top candidate, favored by Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and other former Clinton White House officials, is Elena Kagan, dean of the Harvard Law School and a former lawyer in the White House counsel’s office under Clinton. Another top candidate, favored by other Obama advisors, is David Ogden, a former chief of staff to Attorney General Janet Reno, who is currently heading Obama’s Justice Department transition team. Kagan brings legal policy credentials; Ogden has more experience in the Justice Department trenches.

<snip>

http://www.blog.newsweek.com/blogs/poweringup/archive/2008/11/18/obama-s-attorney-general.aspx

[babylonsister]

1. I'll believe it when it's up on his website. nt

[AtomicKitten]

9. Me too! Obama himself warned us not to believe idle chatter.

[nyc 4 Biden]

50. FWIW, it is on Wikipedia...

On November 18, 2008, President-elect Barack Obama decided to tap Eric Holder as his attorney general, and if his nomination is approved by the U.S. Senate, he will be the first African-American to head the Justice Department. Holder's ascension to the Cabinet will follow the paths of General Colin Powell, who served as Secretary of State in the administration of George W. Bush, and Condoleezza Rice, Powell's successor at State under President Bush, as prominent African-American members of a presidential cabinet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Holder

[Bicoastal]

2. Who cares--he's not Lieberman and he's not Clinton!

IRRELEVANT!!

[Blue_Roses]

53. LOL

:rofl:

[jenmito]

3. K&R. Good choice!

[WeDidIt]

4. Well, that's another disappointment

The Repukes will hammer the MArc Rich pardon incessantly during the confirmation hearings.

[scheming daemons]

6. Except that Bush's pardons will be in the news at the time

[leftynyc]

74. Excellent point

And you just KNOW there are going to be some doozys.

[MadBadger]

8. Do they have the votes for any of us to care?

My vote is no

[WeDidIt]

18. Lieberman will join them

I'm counting on that.

[MadBadger]

41. No he wont

Lieberman is against us on National Security issues, not justice issues. He'll vote with us

[Deep13]

11. Um, this guy had nothing to do with that. nt

[WeDidIt]

20. Um, yes, he did.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Story?id=5211771&page=1

[Deep13]

76. Dammit.

x(

[FrenchieCat]

12. I thought we weren't supposed to worry about what the Repukes think......

which is it? :shrug:

[Renew Deal]

15. Now have concern trolls for cabinet posts.

:banghead:

[WeDidIt]

36. Fuck that noise

I'm only stating a fact.

[NewJeffCT]

58. Didn't soon to be pardoned Scooter Libby also work on the Rich pardon?

if I'm not mistaken

[Cali_Democrat]

75. Honestly.....who gives a shit what the repukes do

Let 'em bitch and moan. I could care less.

Screw 'em.

[Catherine Vincent]

78. So did Scooter Libby. nt

[usregimechange]

83. Do they have any microphones left?

[ellacott]

5. Waiting for the woemongers and outragemongers to wail about this choice

I was hoping that he would make this appointment.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

7. The question is--

will Holder clean up Justice and do something about the politicization of the Department? Will he investigate the persecution of the former governor of Alabama, for instance?

[lamp_shade]

10. Hope it's true. My fingers have been crossed for this one.

[onehandle]

13. It's just a RUMOR! I won't believe it until Obama knocks on my door and tells me personally!!!

Ha ha.

[Metric System]

35. Heh.

[chitty]

14. At first I thought you meant Geoffrey, the

Un-Cola nut guy.

[loyalkydem]

16. CNN

is confirming this

[maddezmom]

57. MSNBC is also confirming it, was offered the position last week

[Barack_America]

17. Meh.

Another Clintonite.

I will say no more.

[FrenchieCat]

22. Anyone worth any salt may have at one point worked for the last

Democratic Administration. Thousands of posts were filled at the time. To believe that most appointees in this new Democratic Administration will not have worked in the previous Democratic Administration is begging that OBama only hires folks straight out of College!

Let's not get besides ourselves on this "Clintonite" label. I think doing so is ill advised.

[Barack_America]

26. .

Deputy AG under Clinton. So, next in line under a hypothetical 3rd term. I'll check the guy out and give him a fair shake, but I can't say I'm thrilled (which is fine considering it's not Obama's job to thrill me).

I was hoping for Napolitano, but as with all other appointments, I'm sure Obama has his reasons and they are valid.

[Renew Deal]

38. I think there were practical problems with nominating Napolitano

One of them being that she may not have wanted the job. The other being that the Lt. Governor in AZ is a puke.

[NewJeffCT]

56. Napolitano was appointed by Clinton

to her post as US Attorney - so, she is another one that is Clinton-connected.

[Barack_America]

59. That's a fair point.

[Skwmom]

27. Okay. But aren't there any high quality, of good character Clintonites to be found?

Is that really to much to ask for?

[FrenchieCat]

31. I don't have a problem with Holder.

And again, calling everyone that worked in the Government during Clinton's eight years a "Clintonite" as though it is a bad word is Black/White "labeling" at its worse.

[Skwmom]

48. It's a short hand way of saying a person who worked in the Clinton administration and isn't even on

the same level.

[Bicoastal]

23. Your're right, we need people outside of Washington or former administrative posts...

...like ME!!

[Barack_America]

32. Or this guy...

Who also ran on a "Washington Outsider" platform.

[Bicoastal]

40. No. He. Did. Not.

He NEVER ran on a Washington outsider platform--how could he? He's a goddamn US SENATOR!

The OTHER guys were the Mavericks, especially the Thrilla from Wasilla. Obama ran on rising above the petty partisanship of the last 8 years--which is exactly what many here are advocating.

[Barack_America]

62. Sorry, I must have misunderstood...

The meaning of this whole "grass roots" thing.

[Bicoastal]

68. Don't lecture me about grassroots--I canvassed for Grassroots throughout this last summer.

The words "Washington Outsider" were never mentioned--not in the office, not in the field, and not on the forms I worked my ass off to get people to sign.

We never spent much time talking about Joe Lieberman or the Clintons either. But we had 100% faith in Obama's judgement because he never let us down--and still hasn't.

[Skwmom]

49. Lawrence O'Donnell said Palin represents the avg intelligence in Congress.

So maybe looking outside Washington is a good idea.

[Skwmom]

Clinton, Part III. Now there's a govt we can be proud of.

[Metric System]

37. NOW you're attacking Obama. First it was Hillary, then it was Biden, now it's the President-elect.

[EFerrari]

19. Chiquita death squad Holder? I hope not. Oh, dear.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=405x9608

[Skwmom]

25. As an American, aren't you just so PROUD of this proposed administration.

Such ethics, such integrity. It's just so wonderful. We Democrats are showing those Republicans how to staff an administration with solid, honest, upright, decent, of great moral character, citizens. Oh, and extremely qualified. Don't let me forget that one.

[EFerrari]

30. Rumsfeld and Cheney were experienced and qualified, too.

And the icing on the cake is that the "left" is still being demonized -- as if there is an actual "left" in the country.

[DissedByBush]

86. Experienced, yes

But then you could probably call Stalin experienced too.

[EFerrari]

87. Yep.

[Jennicut]

42. No brains yet, huh?

[EFerrari]

44. So, you have no problem with someone who defended the murderers

of thousands of Colombian union workers and labor leaders?

That's a little . . . odd.

[AspenRose]

45. I think it's Ralph.

[Skwmom]

46. Well they say ignorance is bliss. Unfortunately, sometimes no matter how much

you'd like to be in that state of ignorant bliss, it's just not possible.

[Jennicut]

52. Not ignorance just annoyance. Obama was elected, let him at least take office first

or is that too much to ask? I am not going to nitpick every little appointment. Sorry, I doubt everyone on here can be pleased 100% of the time.

[EFerrari]

54. AG is not a little appointment, especially considering that Justice

is profoundly corrupted right now.

But, do we even know if this is true yet?

[Jennicut]

64. No we don't. Which is why I don't get all the handwringing

[EFerrari]

65. Imho, we have a kind of collective PTSD. Who wouldn't after these last 8 years?

[Jennicut]

67. Yes, we do. Holder is not my favorite but Obama has been close too him for a long time.

I get it.

[EFerrari]

72. It sends a really unfortunate message to Latin America.

And, that's a shame.

[Skwmom]

61. Nitpick? What would some of you people be saying if the Republicans

had appointed someone like this? Give me a break.

[DissedByBush]

85. I hope I was right

In detecting dripping sarcasm there.

[Ichingcarpenter]

28. USB investment bank defender?

I thought I read something about Holder and them.

[EFerrari]

34. He did the Mark Rich pardon. I don't know about USB. n/t

[FrenchieCat]

39. Yeah...and Wes Clark was called a War Criminal by many here at DU!

:eyes:

[EFerrari]

43. Read the link, Frenchie?

[FrenchieCat]

55. Yes, I did.

And thank you for providing it.

[EFerrari]

60. Credit PeacePatriot, not me. Do we know if this appointment is a done deal?

I was really hoping we wouldn't send this signal to Latin America. Because what it looks like down there is problematic.

[genna]

79. Won't Holder have to recuse himself on the Columbia death squads?

Or any other cases where he represented interests that don't work in the Government's favor?

Isn't that a common practice in the legal field when there is a conflict of interest?

As for Latin America...
I listened to Democracy Now last week or the week before and they went through Holder's representation of those Columbian interests. I would think that Obama can pick one or more Deputy Secretary who has a better background on Columbia and the rest of South America to balance Holder's deficit.

[EFerrari]

82. I was hoping Richardson would stay in the mix.

He's very good at developing those relationships.

[Skwmom]

51. Clark is a smart and decent guy. I won't be looking for him to get any

position in this administration (unless it's some low level token position without any power).

[ErinBerin84]

21. that's kind of disappointing.

[democrattotheend]

33. How come?

I don't know much about him...why is it disappointing?

[ErinBerin84]

81. it's not a huge deal, but I was just looking for someone a little outside the box

Oh well...I guess that's why Obama's president and I'm not.

[NewJeffCT]

24. Not a big surprise - I've been predicting Holder since June

here on DU.

[Sebastian Doyle]

29. Isikoff talking out his ass

I'm not buying this yet. And I sure as hell hope it's not the case.

The department of JUSTICE needs to return to being exactly that. We need a better AG than this.

[eleny]

63. MSNBC just reported that Holder has accepted

[Sebastian Doyle]

66. MSNBC relies on Newsweek for a lot of their material.

Isikoff is probably their source.

[eleny]

69. He is

[Ichingcarpenter]

71. I don't find him exceptional but neither do I find him mediocre

I was hoping for someone that had a record of taking on corporations
vs representing corporations. I was hoping someone that prosecuted corruption



He has some good points:
In the Justice department:

The Public Integrity attorneys were charged with prosecuting high-level corruption cases, often involving respectable public figures. Among those Holder helped to prosecute were former South Carolina congressman John W. Jenrette--in the notorious "Abscam" case in the late 1970s--and a Philadelphia judge who accepted monetary gifts to "fix" cases. The list of people Holder prosecuted while with Public Integrity included Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents, politicians, organized crime figures, and even a fellow Justice Department lawyer. The job Holder thought he would stay in for two years consumed one dozen years of his life.

In 1988, President Ronald Reagan appointed Holder to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The rotating judgeship involved deciding every imaginable kind of case, from murders and armed robberies to nonpayment of child support and school truancy. The job proved particularly difficult for a man committed to helping African Americans in the city.

Publicity was waiting for Holder almost the very day he began his new job. Even though he was appointed by a Democratic president, he was expected to preside over a complicated Justice Department investigation of fraud involving the post office in the House of Representatives. An influential congressman, Illinois Democrat Dan Rostenkowski, was the subject of the investigation and has since been indicted on charges that he misused official House accounts.

Rostenkowski, as chairman of the congressional Ways and Means Committee, was in a position to help the Clinton administration to implement its agenda for health care reform. Nonetheless, Holder persisted with the investigation and even widened its scope. He told the Washington Post that matters of criminal prosecution must be handled without regard to partisan politics. "The idea that a Democratic U.S. attorney is going to do something different than a Republican U.S. attorney is pretty close to ridiculous," he observed.

Holder has had to provide direction for the prosecution of numerous local criminal suspects, including everyone from the local drug dealers to those who might wish to harm the president. It is in the local arena that Holder is expected to make the greatest impact.
http://www.answers.com/topic/eric-h-holder-jr

[EFerrari]

77. F#ck.

This is worse and sooner than I'd hoped it would be.

[FLAprogressive]

47. Another Clinton retread? *sigh*

Why? First Rahm, now this guy...soon Hillary herself will be part of this cabinet!

C'mon Barack!

(I know I'll get labeled a "concern troll" for this. God forbid anyone have a single dissenting view)

[dascientist]

70. HE DID IT BEEEFOOOOOOOOOORRRREEEEE

http://splicd.com/X70GiK5OJ1E/270/285

[EndElectoral]

73. I woulda preferred a break from the Clinton people. Someone like Charles Ogletree.

[genna]

80. Did you see how the Senate ripped Lani Guinear apart? What do you think they'd do with Charles O?

They'd have him for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This is true of most black public intellectuals because of their stance on racism. Obama is limited to neutral sounding blacks.

Anyone feel like he can pull a radical out of his back pocket?

[1776Forever]

84. I am sure he will be a good AT but wonder too about all the Clintonites....

[marimour]

88. everyone worked for the Clintons!

If anyone has been a successful democrat in government then they probably worked for the Clintons. He has been our only Democratic president in the last 20 years. who did you expect them to work for? Also, he didn't just work for clinton. He worked for bush 1, carter, and reagan as well.

[1776Forever]

90. He doesn't look that old - lol - honestly I didn't know he was that old.

Thanks -:hi:

[Dr Fate]

89. I have no reason not to trust Obama on this...

As long as he is picking who he really wants and who he really thinks is the best, I'm fine...