Attorney General nominee Holder must prosecute or contradict sworn testimony

r-holderhearing-huge.jpgHolder Will Have to Prosecute
By David Swanson

After comments made in his confirmation hearing, Attorney General nominee Eric Holder will be hard pressed not to prosecute Bush, Cheney, and their co-conspirators, or to appoint a special prosecutor.

When Senator Patrick Leahy asked if waterboarding is torture and illegal, Holder agreed that it is. When Leahy then asked whether the President of the United States can immunize acts of torture, Holder said that he cannot.

When Senator Diane Feinstein said that an Inspector General’s report on politicized hiring, firing, and prosecuting at the Department of Justice is evidence that officials have lied to the Senate Judiciary Committee, and that doing so is illegal, Holder replied that he will review prosecutors’ determination not to pursue criminal charges.

When Senator Orrin Hatch asked if the president has the authority to engage in warrantless surveillance, Holder said no.

When Senator Russ Feingold asked the same thing, Holder stammered and stuttered and called it a “hypothetical” but said no.

When Feingold pointed out that lawyers at the Department of Justice, the White House, and the Office of the Vice President had written memos that clearly sought to sanction illegal actions, and asked “What is your view of the President’s Constitutional authority to authorize violations of the law?” Holder replied that the president does not have that authority.

All of this provides powerful material for those who will seek to persuade Holder to actually enforce the laws of the land. But Holder’s comments throughout the hearing suggested that it is President Elect Barack Obama who will have to be persuaded. Obama has said that a decision to prosecute will be Holder’s, and Holder professed his independence from Obama. Yet, when asked for his opinions during the hearing, Holder often replied by stating what Obama’s opinions were.

And when Senator Jeff Sessions asked Holder if he intended to prosecute anyone in the Bush Administration, Holder strongly suggested that he did not.

Holder also went out of his way on a number of occasions to suggest that violations of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the Fourth Amendment through warrantless spying may have been, if not exactly legal, at least “effective” in combatting “global terrorism.”

Holder said that his top priority would be “defeating our adversaries,” but that he would do so while adhering to the rule of law. When Sessions asked whether the Constitution ought to perhaps itself be the top priority, Holder failed to understand the question.

Asked about closing Guantanamo, Holder suggested it would take a very long time, and said that prisoners might be tried in military courts or even military commissions. In this case and several others in which Holder declined to provide details and said that plans had not yet been worked out, he assured the senators that whatever the new president decided to do would be in accordance with “our values.” No one ever asked him to specify what those values are, so we’ll have to either hope they’re good ones that we can believe in, or work to hold Holder to an appropriate follow through on the answers he provided regarding the crimes of his and Obama’s predecessors.


David Swanson is the author of the upcoming book “Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union” by Seven Stories Press and of the introduction to “The 35 Articles of Impeachment and the Case for Prosecuting George W. Bush” published by Feral House and available at Amazon.com. Swanson holds a master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Virginia. He has worked as a newspaper reporter and as a communications director, with jobs including press secretary for Dennis Kucinich’s 2004 presidential campaign, media coordinator for the International Labor Communications Association, and three years as communications coordinator for ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. Swanson is Co-Founder of AfterDowningStreet.org, creator of ConvictBushCheney.org and Washington Director of Democrats.com, a board member of Progressive Democrats of America, the Backbone Campaign, and Voters for Peace, a member of the legislative working group of United for Peace and Justice, and convener of the accountability and prosecution working group of United for Peace and Justice.

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2 Comments

  1. I doubt very much that Holder, as a nominee, would have been briefed on anything yet.

    Obama has made very clear he fully intends to close Gitmo, but that it will take time to find the right places to transfer the prisoners.

    When you say “the terrorists” are you assuming all those detained are guilty? That would be in direct contradiction to the basic legal tenet that those arrested are “innocent until proven guilty”.

  2. when Senator Jeff Sessions asked Holder if he intended to prosecute anyone in the Bush Administration, Holder strongly suggested that he did not.

    Holder also went out of his way on a number of occasions to suggest that violations of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the Fourth Amendment through warrantless spying may have been, if not exactly legal, at least “effective” in combatting “global terrorism.”

    Asked about closing Guantanamo, Holder suggested it would take a very long time, and said that prisoners might be tried in military courts or even military commissions

    Well Andrew, I would have to say your little movement won’t get too far if Holder is confirmed for AG. Effective, yes and like I said before, It’s not going to be easy to get rid of Gitmo. That “change of heart” by Obama and his AG pick is because they were finally briefed on the REAL DEAL regarding the terrorists. Very sobering, I should think!

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