OBAMA TO PICK HOLDER AS AG: REPORT

[eleny]

Source: New York Post

REUTERS

Last updated: 3:15 pm
November 18, 2008
Posted: 3:15 pm
November 18, 2008

WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama has decided on Eric Holder to be attorney general, Newsweek said Tuesday, citing two legal sources close to Obama's transition team.

The magazine said on its website that the 57-year-old Holder, who served as deputy attorney general during the Clinton administration, "still has to undergo a formal vetting review" before the selection is final and announced.

If the appointment is confirmed, he would be the first African American to head the Justice Department.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/seven/11182008/news/politics/obam...

---

Also saw it on MSNBC just now. Holder has accepted.

Wiki link to his info. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Holder

[thereismore]

1. A surprise pick. nt

[eleny]

2. MSNBC just reported that Holder has accepted

[subsuelo]

21. Everyone should read Peace Patriot's journal entry regarding Holder

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Peace%20Patri...

Holder was the high-priced corporate attorney for Chiquita International, who got Chiquita execs off with a hand-slap (and secrecy--both arranged by the Bushwhacks) after they paid $1.7 million to rightwing death squads in Colombia, to take care of their "labor problem" by murdering some four thousand union leaders and workers in Chiquita's banana plantations over a seven year period.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

29. I've represented some reprehensible people too,

but as an officer of the court, I must do my best, within ethical boundaries, for each client.

[Thothmes]

44. He also got Dan Rostankowski sent up the river

[defendandprotect]

51. This is "change" ... it's just more Bushco ---!!!

Remember SC Justice Thurgood Marshall --?

He foretold of the Clarence Thomas pick in his retirement-announcement

press conference ...

Marshall said, "what's important about a snake isn't it's color --

it's whether or not it bites" ...

[GreenPartyVoter]

6. Maybe it shouldn't have been such a surprise. Looking at the first

paragraph of his wikipedia entry shows that a) he is qualified and b) he is trusted by Obama.

"Eric Himpton Holder, Jr. (born January 21, 1951) is a former Deputy Attorney General of the United States and a senior legal advisor to Barack Obama, the former U.S. Senator from Illinois and President-elect of the United States, and his campaign for the presidency. Along with Caroline Kennedy and Jim Johnson, he served on Obama's vice presidential selection committee."

[davepc]

3. It's like Hillary won....Clinton's people everywhere.

[Freddie Stubbs]

10. Would you prefer he hire Bush people?

It looks like he wants experienced people.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

14. Last time I checked...

we voted for "change" -- Clinton (or Bush) retreads are not change. He could have been bold and struck out on his own -- I wish he had.

[CalGator]

19. he went with experience

Eric Holder, like most people who have been in the Justice Dept over the years, has ties to any president who appointed them or let them stay in there upon coming into office. Holder has been in the Department since the last days of Ford and early days of Carter.

People who worked for Clinton are not opposed to change. The President sets the agenda, not his staff. Some of Clinton's biggest issues (NAFTA, for example) were issues which he dictated. You get a President who wants change, then you surround him with people who have the experience to make it happen. That's what's happening here.

[BrklynLiberal]

30. You are right...and most of the really experienced people were in the Clinton Admin.

They are not going to pick too many from republican admins, and the last Dem admin was Carter, more than 25 years ago.
If you are looking for previous govt experience, the Clinton admin is the only place to look.

[Better Believe It]

36. So did Clinton Make Most Of His Picks From The Carter Administration?

[BrklynLiberal]

45. Actually many were. Some even from Johnson admin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton#First_term.2C...


The Clinton Cabinet
Office Name Term
President Bill Clinton 1993–2001
Vice President Al Gore 1993–2001

Secretary of State Warren Christopher 1993–1997
Madeleine Albright 1997–2001

Secretary of Treasury Lloyd Bentsen 1993–1994
Robert Rubin 1995–1999
Lawrence Summers 1999–2001

Secretary of Defense Les Aspin 1993–1994
William Perry 1994–1997
William Cohen 1997–2001

Attorney General Janet Reno 1993–2001

Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt 1993–2001

Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy 1993–1994
Daniel Glickman 1994–2001

Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown 1993–1996
Mickey Kantor 1996–1997
William Daley 1997–2000
Norman Mineta 2000–2001

Secretary of Labor Robert Reich 1993–1997
Alexis Herman 1997–2001

Secretary of Health and
Human Services Donna Shalala 1993–2001

Secretary of Education Richard Riley 1993–2001

Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development Henry Cisneros 1993–1997
Andrew Cuomo 1997–2001

Secretary of Transportation Federico Peña 1993–1997
Rodney Slater 1997–2001

Secretary of Energy Hazel O'Leary 1993–1997
Federico Peña 1997–1998
Bill Richardson 1998–2001

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jesse Brown 1993–1997
Togo West 1998–2000

Chief of Staff Mack McLarty 1993–1994
Leon Panetta 1994–1997
Erskine Bowles 1997–1998
John Podesta 1998–2001

Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency Carol Browner 1993–2001

Director of the Office of
Management and Budget Leon Panetta 1993–1994
Alice Rivlin 1994–1996
Franklin Raines 1996–1998
Jacob Lew 1998–2001

Director of the Office of
National Drug Control Policy Lee Brown 1993–1995
Barry McCaffrey 1996–2001

United States Trade Representative Mickey Kantor 1993–1997
Charlene Barshefsky 1997–2001

[Mojorabbit]

31. I would have prefered someone

who was a real go getter for the good of the people, like Fitzgerald instead of someone who defended Chiquita.

[CalGator]

37. Fitz had his own issues too

One could argue he failed to indict Cheney because he knew that the Justice Dept. was ready to dismiss him for not having "distinguished service".

I would have been okay with someone younger than Holder who had no Clinton ties, but Holder wasn't beholden (ha!) to Clinton; he'd been in the Justice Department for years. Someone like Lisa Maddigan would have also sufficed and would have kept up Obama's Illinois ties.

[IsItJustMe]

33. I pray you are right in your analysis. Damn I do.

[rpannier]

48. He was on Obama's short list so it's not a surprise

The biggest obstacle he will face is he is associated with the Marc Rich pardon.

FGortunately for Obama when DUH-bya's pardon list comes out the republikkans will most likely not say a word.

I agree with you that the Clinton people are not opposed to change.
You did need experienced people to get it through.

I mean, FDR picked Joe Kennedy to oversee business because he knew Joe was a crook and ergo could spot crooked behavior a mile off.

I'll withhold my hysterics until I see who is picked and see what they do.

It's always good to have some skepticism about anyone (even Obama) because you're less likely to get blind-sided.
But, there comes a point to where it does become an exercise in looking for what's wrong instead of what's right with the new President

[Zhade]

49. Oh, so he's not "clinton's" guy at all.

NT!

[Freddie Stubbs]

23. I don't thnik that most Americans equate the Clinton and Bush Administrations as the same thing

[NikolaC]

25. While I Am Tempted To Agree With You On This

I have to believe that he knows what he is doing. Maybe this was the price he had to pay for getting Hillary out of the race, filling his cabinet with former Clinton people. Or, maybe he is trying to make sure that the country gets back on the right footing with a team of experienced, tough people around him. While I am not happy with all of the former Clinton picks, I believe the latter comment is true. We will just have to wait and see what kind of job his picks will do, Holder included.

[Demit]

16. Here are the choices, presuming that those who served in Carter's administration are well along in

their golden years.

1. Those with experience who served in the last Democratic administration;
2. Those with experience who served in Bush's Republican administration;
3. Those who have no experience in national government at all.


Use your head here! I know that Obama is.

[Oregone]

18. Ill take "no experience" for $500 Alex.

Look, everyone had to have "no experience" at some point (which is ridiculous anyway since people have relevant education/experience on some level to be considered). Whenever anyone was first appointed to a national post, they had no experience. Why would Obama watch Clinton to appoint people from choice "3", but then not do so himself, and instead use choice "1"? Everyone has to start somewhere.

Anyway...I thought 'Its not about experience. Its about judgment'.

[Demit]

24. Yes, everyone has to start somewhere, but that doesn't mean they start in high-level positions.

You're making an assumption that I honestly don't understand:

That anyone who has worked in government already couldn't possibly work for change. The very fact they have experience denies the possibility of change. They must automatically be discarded/shunned/vilified, because they will never ever change again, QED.

What is your meaning of change anyway? I thought Obma meant in actions of state, of policies. Since he will be the one setting policy, I am presuming that the people he is hiring are comfortable with his vision of change, and ready to carry it out. I don't understand the snarkiness of belittling his hiring choices, as if his choices somehow belie the promise of change. Could you explain that to me please?

[pjt7]

26. I think we all would like an honest, capable person

who has been outside the DC bubble of corrupt compromise.

Having a real AG is priority no#1 in my book in restoring America. If it's true that Holder was heavily involved in letting Marc Rich go free & representing a corrupt murderous S.American corporation...It's hard for me to believe anything is going to really change for the better.

Can any of Holder's supporters here, tell me what criminals he has put away?

[YankmeCrankme]

43. who were all the people Clinton appointed/selected?

Were they from the previous administrations? No. So this is an asinine point to make, especially when Obama has no experience at the level we just elected him to. If we can trust the judgment of a person who has no executive experience I suppose he could trust people who don't have the experience at that level.

Perhaps he will, but so far his picks are status quo, same old, same old. As to your point about presuming that the people he is hiring are comfortable with his vision of change, it just may be that so many "experience" people will be more likely to maneuver the inexperienced Obama toward their vision than he can move those to his.

Time will tell.

[LiberalFighter]

42. I would go with mostly those in the last Democratic admin with some

from state admin if they have outstanding credentials. But they would have understand that they need to deal with Washington ways without being stubborn.

I seem to recall that during the Carter admin their appointed people ticked off a lot of fed employees.

[TriMetFan]

69. What did you think was going to happen?

[Mojorabbit]

4. Well he has some baggage

Marc Rich and Chiquita.

[thereismore]

5. Chiquita banana terrorists. Yep. nt

[subsuelo]

20. Greg Craig, now this ass clown

*Extremely* disappointing for those of us expecting change.

[4lbs]

40. You mean the same Chiquita that paid protection money so that their employees wouldn't be

kidnapped and held for ransom or killed outright?

[thereismore]

70. Yes, that one. nt

[AllieB]

7. Yup. Looks like a pro-corporate AG.

[Freddie Stubbs]

13. Should he have picked an AG who was opposed to corporations?

[AllieB]

17. Not at all. But there's a difference between being pro-business

and pro-shady business. But if Obama trusts him, that is what counts.

[defendandprotect]

52. In fact ... yes--!!! Capitalism should be seen for what it is ....

organized crime --

It's the basis of unrest, wars and oppression as we've introduced it all over

the world. It's corrupt ---

How could you in 2008 not be questioning corporatism ...???!!!

[fla nocount]

56. Paired with gov. policy making it's called fascism. n/t

[defendandprotect]

67. Forget what you were taught in school about capitalism--

Democracy and capitalism are NOT synomous --''

Capitalism is the enemy of democracy --

And happy to see many here "get it" --

[grahamhgreen]

65. YES!!! How many time must they screw you before you realize they must be broken up???

[blueclown]

8. So you mean we can look foward to some faux outrage by the rethugs about this pick? n/t

[Mojorabbit]

9. Well that is a given

I think. LOL

[pjt7]

11. This is the most important pick (imo)

Is this guy going to take on the real criminals hidden in American society or what?

[girl gone mad]

34. Yeah..

the ones that stand in the way of total corporate usurption.

[defendandprotect]

53. Agree ---

[Le Taz Hot]

57. President "Change"

just let Lieberman off. What do you think?

[eleny]

15. Hannity is already at it on the radio

DU thread http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[orleans]

55. i was reading part of the chiquita story tonight after malloy was talking about it

can't obama get someone who is ...? i want to say decent or clean...you know, someone with a past a liberal can be proud of?

[dflprincess]

12. Another Clinton retread

I don't think I can take much more change.

[jennied]

22. All of this "change" talk is sickening...

Okay, so we voted for Obama because he was about change. But mostly he was talking about change from the Bush years. Not complete and utter Washington change. Yet Bill Clinton was a pretty good president and people bitch about having Clinton people in the White House. Seriously?? Jeez. This IS change. I'd rather take Bill Clinton people over Bush. Because it IS change. Anything that isn't Bush related is CHANGE people. And plus if people want serious change we're going to need some people experienced people.

[prostock69]

27. Agree

[dflprincess]

28. Gee, if I'd known experience was so damn important,

I would have supported Hillary.

[percussivemadness]

32. enough said :)

[UnrepentantLiberal]

35. It needs to be said...

There WAS a dime's worth of difference between Al Gore and George Bush. Can the Naderites at least admit that before we proceed?

Look, I agree that the Obama Admin. should not be given a free ride when it comes to decisions made after Jan. 20 but if all it takes is the PERCEPTION of "not change" to send some here into a tizzy, the Democratic Underground is going to make the current Republican civil war seem like a picnic. (Thank God that you were so traumatized by eight years of Bush that you were hoodwinked into showing up at the polls.)

[dflprincess]

38. I was not, nor have I ever been, a Naderite

and I have been showing up at the polls as well as showing up at doorknocks, lit drops, phone banks, fundraisers (both attending and organizing) since McGovern ran. Obama didn't hoodwink me into anything - I voted for him because he was the nominee (I was not a Hillary fan either) and not John McCain. Surrounding himself with DLCers and retreads from the Clinton administration is pretty much what I expected from him, though I don't think that means I have to like it and I'm not going to be quiet about it. I'm tired of Democrats who sell out.

[defendandprotect]

68. Nader was showing you corporatism/fascism almost half century ago --

There WAS a dime's worth of difference between Al Gore and George Bush. Can the Naderites at least admit that before we proceed?

Yes - Okay

That does it for you on being hung up on what will eventually be proven to be a

general truism which Nader exaggerated - ?


And I doubt you'll see any "Naderites" here who haven't supported Democratic Party --

Figure it out -- we can't go anywhere until you all finally see that your party has

been co-opted. You aren't offered candidates who will truly act for the people and democracy --

When we go we have to move in a bloc --

[jennied]

47. That's not what I mean. Should Obama pick all newbies????

I don't think so. Obama needs people that are experienced around him.

[defendandprotect]

54. Clinton was DLC and in the end that worked well for corporatism --

[aquart]

39. LOLOL!

You all worked yourselves into such a fever pitch of anti-Clinton hatred to justify yourselves in the primaries you're having a wee bit of difficulty adjusting to actual reality.

But that's okay. I haven't forgiven any of you, either.

[TacticalPeek]

46. Roundabout.

The internets are smoking with quick-cooked rationalizations, euphemisms and excuses.

Self-delusion is non-partisan.

[hangman86]

41. He's for closing Gitmo, opposing torture, and outing corrupt politicians

As long as he has those things on his priority list he could have been Clinton's drinking buddy for all I care.

[Zhade]

50. Well, as pointed out above, he's not "clinton's" guy. He's been there forever.

NT!

[grahamhgreen]

66. WILL HE PROSECUTE THE BUSHIES FOR THEIR CRIMES - INCLUDING WAR CRIMES???

[DogPoundPup]

58. America could get its first black attorney general

Source: McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — Eric Holder, a former No. 2 Justice Department official, has been told that he can become the nation's first African-American attorney general, a person with firsthand knowledge said Tuesday.

While Obama hasn't formally tapped Holder, one person with direct knowledge said "it's his if he wants it." This individual asked to remain anonymous because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Beyond being a history-making appointment, Holder would be faced with some of the nation's most divisive legal controversies, including the Bush administration policies on torture, electronic eavesdropping, the extent of presidential power and the imprisonment of terror suspects without charges, trials or the right to challenge their detention.

People close to Holder said that his wife, Dr. Sharon Malone, an obstetrician/gynecologist in Washington, has voiced reservations about his returning to public service. In a past interviews with the Legal Times, Holder said that his wife "was almost a single parent" while he was in government in the 1990s, and that as far as his returning to government, "That ain't gonna happen." The couple has three children.

Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/56118.html

[tblue]

59. As long as he's good, I don't care if he's purple.

[Mike Nelson]

60. Won't it be great when we can stop...

counting "first Black" anything!

[BunkerHill24]

64. LOL....Media is so fixated with "first black".....I am so tired of it

[Mind_your_head]

61. From the article cited: "The couple HAS three children?" *ouch* n/t

[JDPriestly]

62. Here's how his law firm describes Holder's career

Mr. Holder is a litigation partner who handles, among other matters, complex civil and criminal cases, domestic and international advisory matters and internal corporate investigations.

During his professional career, Mr. Holder has held a number of significant positions in government. Upon graduating from Columbia Law School, he moved to Washington, DC and joined the Department of Justice as part of the Attorney General's Honors Program. He was assigned to the newly formed Public Integrity Section in 1976 and was tasked to investigate and prosecute official corruption on the local, state and federal levels. While at the Public Integrity Section, Mr. Holder participated in a number of prosecutions and appeals involving such defendants as the Treasurer of the state of Florida, the Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, a local judge in Philadelphia, an Assistant United States Attorney in New York City, agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and a "capo" in an organized crime family in Pennsylvania.

In 1988, Mr. Holder was nominated by President Reagan to become an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was confirmed by the Senate and his investiture occurred in October of that year. Over the next five years, Judge Holder presided over hundreds of civil and criminal trials and matters. Many of the trials involved homicides and other crimes of violence.

In 1993, President Clinton nominated Mr. Holder to become the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. He was confirmed later that year and served as the head of the largest United States Attorneys office in the nation for nearly four years. He was the first black person to serve in that position. As U.S. Attorney, Mr. Holder created a Domestic Violence Unit to more effectively handle those types of tragic cases, implemented a community prosecution project to work hand in hand with residents and local government agencies in order to make neighborhoods safer, supported a renewed enforcement emphasis on hate crimes so that criminal acts of intolerance would be severely punished, developed a comprehensive strategy to improve the manner in which agencies handled cases involving the abuse of children, launched a community outreach program to reconnect the U.S. Attorney's office with the citizens it serves, revitalized the Victim/Witness Assistance Program to better serve those individuals who were directly affected by crime and developed "Operation Ceasefire," an initiative designed to reduce violent crime by getting guns out of the hands of criminals.

More

http://www.cov.com/eholder /

[JDPriestly]

63. More on Holder's bio

Like sharks sensing blood in the water, conservatives who helped press the case against James A. Johnson, formerly the head of Barack Obama's vice presidential vetting committee, are bearing down on their next target: former deputy attorney general Eric Holder.

Holder, one of two remaining members of Obama's vice presidential search committee, was always expected to be a lightning rod. As Bill Clinton's deputy attorney general, he was the gatekeeper for presidential pardons. Most famously, he waved through the pardon for fugitive financier Marc Rich in the waning days of the Clinton White House. But Republicans -- through the Republican National Committee, conservative media outlets like the Wall Street Journal editorial page and aggressive freelance operators -- are spreading their net wider. One target of opportunity: Clinton's pardon of 16 Puerto Rican nationalists (or terrorists, depending on your perspective) linked to the FALN, the Spanish acronym for the Armed Forces of National Liberation.

"Will Obama Vet Holder?" goaded the RNC this morning.

"Eric Holder (Covington & Burling) is defending UBS Financial Services in a discriminatory employment practices matter against African Americans," an e-mailed missive from a freelancer warned this morning, not mentioning Phil Gramm, a senior executive at UBS and top John McCain adviser.

More

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/06/12/n...