Holder sworn in as attorney general

[BlueJessamine]

Source: MSNBC

WASHINGTON - Eric Holder has been sworn in as the nation's attorney general, the first African-American to fill the job.

Vice President Joe Biden administered the oath to President Barack Obama's pick to lead the Justice Department.

Biden said the department, under Holder, would return to a past standard of "no politics, no ideology. Only a clear assessment of facts and law."

Hundreds of department employees packed the hallways and stairways to welcome Holder. To loud cheers and applause, he pledged to remake the department by "taking it back to what it once was and always has to be."

Holder was confirmed Monday evening by a 75-21 Senate vote, with all the opposition coming from Republicans.

Holder takes over a department wracked by Bush administration scandals over politically motivated hirings and firings.

For starters, the new attorney general will learn the secrets of the Office of Legal Counsel, whose lawyers justified the use of controversial interrogation tactics and even declined to provide Bush administration documents to internal Justice Department investigators.

Holder will inherit a Justice Department wracked by Bush administration scandals over politically inspired hirings and firings. He has pledged to restore its reputation.

Holder also will play a major role in the future of terrorism detainees.

President Barack Obama, in a major policy shift, signed an executive order to close the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, within a year. He also created a special task force to review detainee policy; Holder and Defense Secretary Robert Gates will serve as co-chairs.



Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28977896/