Tag: Eric Holder (page 3)

No surprise here. Attorney General nominee Eric Holder passed the Senate Judicary Committee by a vote of 17 to 2 with only Republican Senators John Cornyn and Tom Coburn voting no.

A vote by the full Senate should take place in a few days. Mukasey's term expired on Jan. 20 Bush Deputy AG Mark Filip is <a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/01/21/bush-holdover-takes-the-reigns-awaiting-holder-confirmation/, serving as Acting Attorney General until Holder is confirmed.

Next up after Holder's confirmation: The naming of 93 U.S. Attorneys. Will there be any holdovers? Patrick Fitzgerald is expected to stay as Obama previously said he would keep him. The rest will primarily be chosen through recommendations by the Senators in each district.

During the presidential campaign, President-elect Obama pledged numerous times to end DEA raids on individuals who use or provide medical cannabis in accordance with their state law. The U.S. Attorney General is the member of the cabinet who will implement Obama¹s criminal justice policies, including federal marijuana enforcement.

Confirmation hearings for Obama's nominee, Eric Holder, are scheduled to begin on January 15th before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT). Holder's past positions on drug law reform are outlined here.

Via NORML:

Please help NORML make sure the next Attorney General keeps the promises made by President-elect Obama! Call or write Senator Leahy's office at (202) 224-4242 and say:

"The Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendements to the Constitution of the United States prohibit cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment."

With that sentence begins the documentary film "Torturing Democracy", a documentary to be aired on PBS television stations nationwide on January 21st, 2009, one day after President Bush leaves office.

One day after President Bush leaves office will be the first day of President-Elect Barack Obama's new administration.

Between today and that day, we have a date with Attorney General-Designate Eric Holder and President-Elect Barack Obama. Everyday.

As netizens reading this at the founding site of the Citizens Petition for a Special Prosecutor to Investigate and Prosecute Bush War Crimes we have a date every day with those two men as we work to generate as many signatures to the petition that we can possibly generate to bring the war criminals in the Bush administration to justice. Principally Mr. Bush himself, Vice President Richard Cheney, and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. They were the leaders. The instigators. And the approvers. But there are many others as well, and they all deserve fair trials. it is the very least we can do for them, and for the world.

These crimes are being euphemistically referred to as "abusive interrogation techniques" by such respected figures as Senator John McCain. These are euphemisms for torture. Torture is a War Crime. Waterboarding is a War Crime. The CIA has admitted waterboarding detainees. Recently, Vice President Cheney has brazenly admitted authorizing the program that led to waterboarding, other forms of torture too numerous to list, and ultimately, the deaths by homicide of detainees.

As is often the case, we are because of our insatiable interest, curiosity and determination to be as well informed as we can be, much farther ahead of the millions of people who will see Torturing Democracy on January 21st, 2009.

Before the PBS broadcast the documentary in its entirety can be viewed at TorturingDemocracy.org

This short intro video is the first eight and a half minutes of the full documentary. You can watch the full program at the link above.

Looseheadprop, a former federal prosecutor who writes at Firedoglake, makes a last-ditch effort to derail the nomination of Eric Holder for Attorney General.

I agree Obama should have picked someone different, but for for much different reasons -- his position on drug offenses, his Biden-like endorsement of draconian crime bills and his closeness to Obama (a weaker but still troublesome comparison can be made to Bush and Alberto Gonzales) but I think Obama is so beholden to Holder for his work on his campaign, from the Veep Selection Committee on down, that it's hopeless. He sailed through his 1997 confirmation hearing for Deputy Attorney General. As I wrote here and here, [More...]

As U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C., Eric Holder sought to raise marijuana penalties and restore mandatory minimum penalties for drug crimes. From the Washington Times, December 5, 1996 (via Lexis.com):

Eric Holder yesterday said he will seek to make marijuana distribution in the District a felony and reinstate mandatory-minimum sentences for convicted drug dealers. Mr. Holder,...said the D.C. Council's vote a year ago to repeal mandatory minimums was "misguided," leading to a backlog in the court system. He also warned that the city is on the verge of an explosion in violence associated with the sale and use of marijuana.

[More....]

Eric Holder has always been a strong supporter of gun control. From his Weekly Briefing on March 20, 2000 (available on Lexis.com):

I want to add my voice to those who are calling on Congress to finally -- to finally -- pass these very common-sense gun measures.

First, to require child safety locks for all handguns that are sold. Second, to ban violent juveniles from ever having the ability to own guns.

Third, to pass the president's handgun licensing proposal, which requires safety certification for all handgun purchasers.

More...

On June 13, 1997, at age 46, Eric Holder was confirmed by the Senate as Deputy Attorney General under Janet Reno. His confirmation hearing lasted two hours, pretty smooth sailing. The transcript is here. Some snippets, in his own words:

On his objectives:

First, to work with the attorney general in making sure that federal law enforcement resources are used wisely to address the major crime problems confronting our nation -- drugs, violence, gangs, juvenile crime, and official and financial corruption.

More...