Below is my column on the resignation of Eric Holder as United States Attorney General. For civil libertarians, Holder’s tenure as Attorney General under President Obama has been one of the most damaging periods in our history with a comprehensive attack on various constitutional rights and principles from free speech to the free press to international law. In recent polling by NBC and the Wall Street Journal, Holder was the second most unpopular government official after the positively radioactive Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
As someone who previously called for Holder’s firing after the investigation of various journalists under national security powers, I am hardly one who can offer congratulatory sentiments for such a record. However, much like President Obama, one has to wonder what could have been if Holder had chosen a more principled and less political approach to his office. Holder is resigning the same week that a federal judge ordered the release of “Fast and Furious” documents after the Justice Department was accused of a pattern of delay and obstruction. Holder was previously held in contempt by Congress for his withholding documents and conflicting accounts to an oversight committee looking into the scandal. Indeed, Holder was looking at an even more aggressive period with the possible loss of the Senate and increased GOP seats in the House.
Ironically, Holder came into office trying to distinguish himself from such disastrous predecessors as Alberto Gonzales but proved no less political or blindly loyal to his own president. Indeed, both men fought aggressively to expand the powers of the presidency and national security laws over countervailing individual rights and separation of powers principles. It will be civil liberties and not civil rights that will be the lasting, and troubling, legacy of Eric Holder. The column is below:
The resignation of Eric Holder as attorney general is an unavoidably symbolic moment for an administration that itself appears to be waning in the final years of a troubled second term. Holder truly personifies an administration of unrivaled ambitions colliding with inescapable realities.
He proved a fierce friend to President Obama, and that loyalty might have worked to the disadvantage of both men. After a series of major court defeats and public controversies, Obama (like President Bush before him) might have been served better by an attorney general who was more detached from him and more attached to the constitutional principles that shape both their offices.
Holder has secured a well-earned position for himself in history as the nation’s first black U.S. attorney general. He is by any means an American success story. The son of a father born in Barbados and raised in New York, Holder used his considerable intellect to go to Columbia University for both college and law school. He was made a judge on the local D.C. court by President Reagan and was appointed U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia by President Clinton, who later made him deputy attorney general.
Holder’s life should be both an inspiration and a cautionary tale for young lawyers. As he ascended into power, Holder became increasingly viewed by critics as a bit too ambitious and political within the Justice Department. That reputation was reaffirmed for many with Clinton’s last-minute pardon of fugitive and major Democratic donor Marc Rich. By any objective measure, Rich was one of the least deserving pardon applicants in history — with 65 criminal counts, from tax evasion to wire fraud to racketeering to illegal trades with Iran. While his companies later pleaded guilty to 35 criminal counts, Rich fled to live the good life in Switzerland. Besides a long list of alleged felonies, Rich had a long list of friends close to Clinton … and Clinton in turn had Eric Holder.
Holder was accused of short-cutting the normal procedures to push through the pardon for Rich. Though he said he was “neutral” on the pardon (which itself is a bit shocking), former FBI director Louis Freeh said the Clinton White House had “used” Holder to keep the FBI and the DOJ from being heard on the pardon.
In his confirmation hearing, Holder promised not to have a repeatof the Rich scandal and not to allow politics to influence his decisions. It was a defining moment and one that Holder would have been wise to work to live up to.
But it did not take long for Holder’s inspiring “Mr. Smith comes to Washington” story to become “all the king’s men.” When the president was confronted with demands to investigate and prosecute individuals for torture under the Bush administration, Holder faced an early test of principle. He failed. The Justice Department blocked any prosecution despite our obligation under international treaties and the president’s (and Holder’s) acknowledgment that waterboarding is clearly a form of torture.
To quote Jerry Maguire, Obama had Holder at “hello” in seeking unbridled presidential authority. Many of the cases that Holder brought and policies that he supported resulted in startling defeats. He lost a series of criminal cases seeking massive reductions in privacy and due process protections for citizens. He unwisely pursued cases such as Canning, where a unanimous Supreme Court curtailed the powers of the president to make recess appointments.
Holder personally announced Obama’s “kill list” policy, in which the president claimed the right to kill any U.S. citizen on his sole authority without a charge, let alone a conviction. Holder’s department used the controversial Espionage Act of 1917 to bring twice the number of such prosecutions of all prior presidents under the Act. Journalists were placed under surveillance in a record that rivaled that of President Nixon. Holder led an appalling crackdown on whistle-blowers. Holder fought to justify massive warrantless surveillance and unchecked presidential authority to attack other countries without congressional approval.
Holder’s continual confrontations with Congress came to a head in a series of scandals, including the “Fast and Furious” controversy in which the government allowed drug gangs to get high-powered weapons in a truly moronic “gun walking” program. In that and other scandals, the administration withheld documents and key witnesses from oversight committees. Holder was wrong and was ultimately held in contempt of Congress.
While Holder can be credited with not shying away from our race conflicts, his actions such as intervening in the Zimmerman case (after the shooting of Trayvon Martin) and the recent Ferguson shooting were viewed by many as premature. His calling the United States a “nation of cowards” on race was a brave but also a divisive moment. In the end, however, his positive work in the area of civil rights will ultimately be eclipsed by his destructive legacy in the area of civil liberties and constitutional government.
The sad truth is that Holder could have been truly great — not simply as the first black attorney general but as a man of principle who stood with the law over politics and friendship. In one of the great lost opportunities in history, Holder will finish his tenure as he began it: a man with great but still unrealized potential.
Jonathan Turley, the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University, is a member of USA Today’s Board of Contributors.
What is Irish about this poetry? As far as I can tell….nothing. Not one word is in Gaelic nor does it contain Irish sensibilities.
SWM – I have raised the same issues about the poetry and the closest I can get to an explanation is that it is a limerick, a beloved form of poetry, but not from Ireland. However, my wife just bought Irish butter, which I do not think is from Ireland either. 🙂
Poet v Poet! It was bound to happen. The new, dynamic, FUNNY, Poet vs. well, how should I say it, former Princess. The younger, brash, out of the box,doesn’t take herself too seriously vs. how should I say, former union, provincial, grade school teacher. NOTHING I said was uncivil. It was direct and frank, something revered in free thinking circles.
Squeeky, We see it over and over, critique Obama, “Bush” is the kneejerk response. But, this Laura Bush response is new. A nerve was struck, possibly severed. You are a breath of fresh air, kiddo. A MUCH NEEDED breath of fresh air. Keep on Rhyming, Texas woman.
@ElaineM
Should we re-write Camelot and the whole King Arthur thing, to where Guinevere didn’t sleep with Lancelot after all??? You are mad about what I said about Jackie K. and think it shows a lack of respect. Maybe you should be mad at Jackie K. and her husband, because the two of them didn’t have enough respect for the country, the White House, and their positions to behave themselves for the 4 to 8 years they would have been there. Would that have been asking too much???
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Elaine – I do think that Jackie’s arrangements to become Mrs. Onassis fall under legal prostitution.
Nick,
Believe it or not, this thread is about the AG and you had asked, “Who do you folks think Obama might pick as the new AG?”
Given his proclivity for making important decisions political, I expect his choice will be a woman, non-white and with a history in the civil rights or environmental division of the Justice Department.
Squeeky,
I have no knowledge of Jackie Kennedy having extramarital affairs. Besides, I choose not to spend my time rummaging around for dirt on former first ladies and besmirching their characters. BTW, are you suggesting that Jackie Kennedy was a prostitute? Are you saying that she got paid to have sex with men other than her husband. How low can you go?
@ElaineM
Well, if you did, that would be your right to free speech in action. I also note that you do not dispute the factual underpinnings of my Irish Poem. Sooo, what do you call a married woman who sleeps around??? Is Jackie Kennedy immune to criticism either because she was rich, or because she was the First Lady???
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Laura Bush was responsible for the death of a high school friend when she ran a stop sign back in the 1960s. I wouldn’t write a limerick about her in which I called her a killer.
Is calling a former first lady of the United States a whore considered acceptable on this blog? This is the kind of change that some folks applaud at RIL?????
Elaine – I am not the one who did not keep her legs crossed. I just reported the reporting. And would you point out where someone called a former First Lady a whore?
@PaulCS
Well, are you saying that I should give her equal time on the Irish Poem stuff???
Jackie, We Hardly Knew Ye???
An Irish Poem by Squeeky Fromm
I guess that as First Ladies go,
Jackie K. was a bit of a ho.
Sooo, was she being flip
With a Freudian slip,
When she later became Jackie O???
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Squeeky – from what I heard about Jackie when she became Jackie O it is one of the few times she kept her legs crossed. 🙂
@PaulCS
You said, “Actually, there was just a report that Jackie Kennedy screwed the guy who designed her husband’s tomb stone (not sure if she was using it as partial pay).
I shouldn’t doubt this at all. Maybe that is why all the Leftists and Chris Matthews types refer to the Kennedy Administration as — Camelot. Because behind the scenes, everybody was screwing everybody else. Which kind of makes me think of an Irish Poem!
Joust A Gigolo???
An Irish Poem by Squeeky Fromm
Oh fie on the White House as Camelot!
Although, JFK used his lance a lot.
With menages a trois. . .
Stasi spies, too! C’est quoi???
Did the taxpayers pay a Madame, or not???
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Report
Squeeky – as much as JFK had trouble keeping his zipper up, Jackie had keeping her dress down. In the last couple of years there have been a list of rather famous people she went to bed with while she was married to JFK.
Dems are whiners, that’s part of their campaign and governing strategy. Dem politicians are always talking about “fairness” and “war on women” and “taking old people’s social security” the list goes on. They stoke class envy. Is it any surprise who are the whiners, complainers, and fairness sheriff’s here???
Jon,
Thank you for being equitable today…
Paul, LOL! The Packers pimp slapped them.
Just a personal observation here. I don’t think it is right to clutter up Professor Turley’s blog with off topic chatter. There are some other blogs that welcome this is their comment section. It is distracting from the topic that has been presented. The writers spent a great deal of time to come up with interesting topics and compose their articles. While it is fun to chat and get to know one another, it seems disrespectful in some ways to ignore their efforts and spend time bickering back and forth and going off topic.
It is bad enough with the incessant whining about being deleted, refusal to comply with civility, complaining about posts that got caught in the spambot and worthless comments snipping at each other and itchbaying about people being big ole meanies or whatever. Grow up people.
So. That is all.
Back to the usual 🙂
DBQ – it is the whining that gets to me. Geez, man up and take your punishment.
Anonymously yours, I have deleted your response to a deleted comment from Nick S.
Anonymously Your 1, September 28, 2014 at 4:43 pm
Careful research would show that I have posted on this Blog since at least June of 2014. I don’t keep count but I’ve already said I don’t follow every thread.
The Blog archives are available to any member. I’m not trying to side rail anything that adds to the discussion. And how is party affiliation germane to anything I said?
“You know, I have gotten in the habit of posting these and the sending them to a third party server… Calculations can be done…” Sorry, I haven’t a clue as to what you’re alluding to.
And honestly(stress placed) I don’t care what your party affiliation is nor do I care to know the extent of your monetary commitment. It’s not relevant.
Olly, I think the Bolts are going to have their hands full. Their game is on here in Wi. Jaguars came to play.
Nick, that works for me.
Nick, I have deleted a comment in violation of our civility rule.
Oh talking to myself again, quite naturally…. Nick it’s dangerous to put an email out here…. Just sayin…. I advise you not to…. But your turning a spin… And I know what that is…
Figures mjh you all need a deflection and I’m tagged today… So how do you kow so much if you are just appearing here…. Virtrol is becoming more and more here…. I’m sure the good professor will delete my comment, but it still does not affect the fact that the only intent is to side rail anything that does not agree with your party stance….
You know, I have gotten in the habit of posting these and the sending them to a third party server… Calculations can be done….
Btw, I donated $4,300 to the DNC…
Am I assuming that the Bears lost? 😉