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Revision as of 20:18, 19 November 2008

Eric Himpton Holder, Jr.
United States Attorney General-designate
Assuming office
January 20, 2009
PresidentBarack Obama
SucceedingMichael Mukasey
Acting Attorney General of the United States
In office
January 20, 2001 – February 2, 2001
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byJanet Reno
Succeeded byJohn Ashcroft
United States Deputy Attorney General
In office
1997–2001
PresidentBill Clinton
Preceded byJamie Gorelick
Succeeded byLarry Thompson
Personal details
Born (1951-01-21) January 21, 1951 (age 73)
The Bronx, New York, U.S.
Spouse(s)Sharon Malone, M.D.
ChildrenThree
ProfessionAttorney

Eric Himpton Holder, Jr. (born January 21, 1951), is a former D.C. Superior Court judge, U.S. Attorney and Deputy Attorney General. He is currently a senior legal advisor to President-elect Barack Obama, a position he also held in Obama's campaign. He was one of three members of Obama's vice-presidential selection committee.[1]

In mid-November 2008, Obama reportedly asked Holder to serve as the United States Attorney General in the incoming Obama Administration.[2] If nominated and approved, he would be the first African-American Attorney General.

Biography

Holder was born in 1951 in the The Bronx, borough of New York City, to parents with roots in Barbados;[3] Holder's father, Eric Himpton Holder, Sr. (1905 - 1970)[4] was born in St. Joseph, arrived in the United States at the age of eleven aboard the S.S. Stephen on February 24, 1916, and eventually served[5] in the Army Air Corps during World War II.[6] His mother, Miriam was born in New Jersey of Barbadian parents.[6] Holder grew up in Queens and attended public school until the age of 10. When entering the 4th grade he was selected to participate in a program for intellectually gifted students.[7] He went on to attend Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan[8] and attended Columbia University, where he played freshman basketball and earned a B.A. in American history in 1973. After his undergraduate degree, Holder went to Columbia Law School, finishing in 1976. He worked for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund during his first summer and the United States Attorney during his second summer.[7]

Holder is married to Sharon Malone, an obstetrician; the couple has three children.[9] Malone's sister is Vivian Malone Jones, famous for her part in integrating the University of Alabama.[10]

Career

After graduating from Columbia Law School Holder worked in the U.S. Justice Department as a trial attorney in the Public Integrity Section from 1976 to 1988. During his time there he helped prosecute Democratic Congressman John Jenrette for bribery discovered in the Abscam sting operation.[11] In 1988, President Ronald Reagan appointed him to serve as a judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.[1] Holder stepped down from the bench in 1993 to accept an appointment for U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia from President Bill Clinton. He was the first African-American U.S. Attorney in that office.[12] At the beginning of his tenure, he oversaw the conclusion of the corruption case against Dan Rostenkowski, part of the Congressional Post Office Scandal.[11] He was a U.S. Attorney until his elevation to Deputy Attorney General in 1997.

Deputy Attorney General

In 1997, upon the spring retirement of Jamie Gorelick, Clinton nominated Holder to be the next Deputy Attorney General under Janet Reno. Holder was quickly confirmed several months later in the Senate by a unanimous vote.[13] During his confirmation hearing, Holder's opposition to the death penalty was questioned, but he pledged his intention to cooperate with the current laws and Attorney General Janet Reno, saying, "I am not a proponent of the death penalty, but I will enforce the law as this Congress gives it to us."[14] Holder was the first African-American to serve in that position.[7] Holder briefly served as Acting Attorney General under President George W. Bush, until the Senate confirmed Bush's nominee, John Ashcroft.[15]

As Deputy Attorney General, Holder advised Reno about how far to go in the Justice Department's use of the Independent Counsel statute. Ultimately, Reno made the fateful decision to permit Kenneth Starr to expand his investigation into the Lewinsky affair, indirectly leading to Clinton's impeachment.[7]

In his final days with the Clinton administration, Holder was swept into the controversy surrounding President Clinton's last-minute pardon of fugitive and Democratic contributor Marc Rich. Between November 2000 and January 2001 Jack Quinn, Rich's lawyer and former White House Counsel from 1995-96, had been contacting Holder, testing the waters for the political viability of a presidential pardon. After presenting his case to Holder in a November phone call and a last minute January 17th letter, Quinn arranged a phone call between the White House and Holder, asking the Deputy Attorney General to share his opinion on the Rich pardon. Ultimately, Holder gave a "neutral, leaning towards favorable" opinion of the pardon to Clinton.[7]

During his February testimonies before the House Government Reform Committee [16] and Senate Judiciary Committee, Holder argued his phone call was not intended as a formal Justice Department blessing of the pardon, saying, "my interaction with the White House, I did not view as a recommendation. Because... I didn't have the ability to look at all the materials that had been vetted through the way we normally vet materials." He also did not believe his opinion would be interpreted as a go-ahead for the pardon. "What I said to the White House counsel ultimately was that I was neutral on this because I didn't have a factual basis to make a determination as to whether or not Mr. Quinn's contentions were in fact accurate, whether or not there had been a change in the law, a change in the applicable Justice Department regulations, and whether or not that was something that would justify the extraordinary grant of a pardon." [17] An investigation championed by House Government Reform Committee chairman Rep. Dan Burton concluded, in a 2003 report covering 177 Clinton pardons, that Holder had played a significant role in facilitating the Rich pardon, first by recommending the well-connected Jack Quinn to Marc Rich legal representatives, and by eventually delivering a favorable opinion of the twilight pardon to the President from a position of authority.[18]

Private practice

Since 2001, Holder has worked as an attorney at Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C.,[7] representing clients such as Merck and the National Football League.[19]

In 2004, Holder helped negotiate an agreement with the Justice Department for Chiquita Brands International in a case that involved Chiquita's payment of "protection money" to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, a group on the U.S. government's list of terrorist organizations.[20][21] In the agreement, Chiquita's officials pleaded guilty and paid a fine of $25 million.[21] Holder represents Chiquita in the civil action that grew out of this criminal case.[21]

While the D.C. v. Heller Supreme Court case was being decided in 2008, Holder joined the Reno-led amicus brief, which urged the Supreme Court to uphold the handgun ban and claimed that the Department of Justice from Franklin Roosevelt through Bill Clinton had always believed that the Second Amendment does not protect any rights of individuals to own guns for personal use.[22] Holder said that overturning the 1976 law "opens the door to more people having more access to guns and putting guns on the streets."[23]

In April 2004 Holder was invited to CNN as an analyst for important legal issues. He voiced his opposition to the Bush Administration's implementation of the USA PATRIOT Act, saying it is "bad ultimately for law enforcement and will cost us the support of the American people".[24] In a speech to the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy in June 2008 he critisized the US torture policy and the NSA warrantless surveillance program, calling Bush administration's "disrespect for the rule of law [...] not only wrong, it is destructive in our struggle against terrorism".[25]

Nomination to US Attorney General

In late 2007, Holder joined Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign as a senior legal advisor. He served on Obama's vice presidential selection committee.[1] On November 18, 2008, Michael Isikoff of Newsweek reported that Holder has been asked to serve as United States Attorney General by President-elect Obama, and has accepted the offer, pending a formal vetting process.[2] If his nomination is submitted to and approved by the U.S. Senate, he would be the first African-American to head the Justice Department.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c Memmott, A. James (2008-06-05). "Obama picks Caroline Kennedy, Holder, Johnson to lead VP search". Muckety. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
  2. ^ a b c Isikoff, Michael (2008-11-18). "Obama's Attorney General". Newsweek. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |curly= ignored (help)
  3. ^ Best, Tony (2008-11-16). "Obama's AG may be Bajan". Nation Newspaper. Retrieved 2008-11-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  4. ^ "Social Security Death Index [database on-line]". United States: The Generations Network. Retrieved 2008-11-19.
  5. ^ "New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 [database on-line]". United States: The Generations Network. 1916-02-24. Retrieved 2008-11-19.
  6. ^ a b Best, Tony (2008-06-08). "Obama getting help from Bajan son". Nation Newspaper. Retrieved 2008-11-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  7. ^ a b c d e f Longstreth, Andrew (2008). "Making History With Obama". The American Lawyer. Retrieved 2008-11-18. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  8. ^ Tucker-Hamilton, Racine (2004-12-17). "Video Oral History Interview with Eric H. Holder, Jr". The HistoryMakers. Retrieved 2008-11-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthor= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ "Covington & Burling LLP Biographies: Eric H. Holder Jr". Covington & Burling LLP. 2008-06-15. Retrieved 2008-11-18.
  10. ^ Holley, Joe (October 14, 2005). "Vivian Malone Jones Dies; Integrated U-Ala". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-11-19. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ a b Lewis, Neil A. (June 2, 1994). "Indictment of a Congressman: the Legal Case; Prosecutor No Stranger To Corruption in Politics". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-11-19. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  12. ^ Longstreth, Andrew (2008). "Eric Holder: Duty Calls" (PDF). The American Lawyer. Retrieved 2008-11-12. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  13. ^ Staff reporter (1997-07-18). "Nominee Confirmed For Deputy Position At the Justice Dept". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-11-15.
  14. ^ Neil A. Lewis (1997-06-14). "Justice Dept. Nominee Faces Questions but No Strong Opposition". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-11-18.
  15. ^ "Ashcroft Settles In". CBS News. 2001-02-02. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
  16. ^ CNN Staff (2001-02-08). "Marc Rich Pardon: Former Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder Begins Testimony". CNN. Retrieved 2008-11-18. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  17. ^ CNN Staff (2001-02-14). "Marc Rich Pardon: Former Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder Testifies Before Senate Judiciary Committee". CNN. Retrieved 2008-11-18. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  18. ^ Cowan, Alison Leigh (2002-03-13). "Marc Rich Panel Says Top Justice Dept. Aide Held Information on Rich's Pardon". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-11-18.
  19. ^ Johnston, David (November 11, 2008). "The New Team: Eric H. Holder Jr". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-11-19. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  20. ^ "In Terrorism-Law Case, Chiquita Points to U.S." The Washington Post. 2007-08-02. Retrieved 2008-11-14.
  21. ^ a b c "The Banana War". Condé Nast Portfolio. 2007. Retrieved 2008-11-14. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  22. ^ "BRIEF FOR FORMER DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE OFFICIALS AS AMICI CURIAE SUPPORTING PETITIONERS" (PDF).
  23. ^ David Nakamura and Robert Barnes (March 10, 2007). "D.C.'s Ban On Handguns In Homes Is Thrown Out". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-11-19. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  24. ^ Greenwald, Glenn. "Preliminary facts and thoughts about Eric Holder". Salon.com. Retrieved 2008-11-19.
  25. ^ Tuohey, Jason. "Holder on Bush, executive power". Boston.com. Retrieved 2008-11-19.

Further reading

Legal offices
Preceded by U.S. Deputy Attorney General
1997-2001 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Attorney General of the United States
(acting)
2001 		Succeeded by
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