Holder defends attorney defending gay marriage ban

[The Northerner]

WASHINGTON—The former Bush administration lawyer under fire for defending the federal ban on gay marriage is getting support from an unexpected source -- Attorney General Eric Holder.

Holder told reporters on Tuesday that Clement is "doing that which lawyers do" to take on the responsibility of representing the lawmakers who wrote the ban.

"Paul Clement's a great lawyer," Holder said. "He has done a lot of really great things for this nation."

President Barack Obama ordered Holder's Justice Department in February to stop defending the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman. That led House Republicans to hire Clement to take up the cause.

Read more: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2011/04/26/holder_defends_attorney_defending_gay_marriage_ban/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Latest+news

[markpkessinger]

1. Not a fan of Holder, but in this case, he's right

Lawyers are paid to represent their clients' interests (even if the majority of us find those "interests" to be despicable). It's not like this is a current Justice Dept. lawyer defending the ban in contravention to the decision of the Justice Department not to do so. This guy is now in private practice, so there is nothing whatsoever ethically wrong with his taking on this case.

That said, I hope he loses his ass in court!