Eric Holder
Eric Holder will resign, leaving a mixed legacy on national security issues
When he joined President Obama’s cabinet, Attorney General Eric Holder was expected to oversee the shutdown of the US detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. That never happened, but Holder succeeded in shifting focus back to civilian courts — but also aggressively onto leakers.
Will Holder’s New Policy on Drug Sentences Transform Criminal Justice?
For nearly 30 years, being “tough on crime” was been part and parcel of successful political campaigns, and in the mid-1980s, Congress began enacting mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses. After that the prison population exploded and some experts shook their heads at what they considered to be misguided drug policy. But as Attorney General […]
Holder, under fire, tries to repair relations with media, Congress
Attorney General Eric Holder has been unpopular with Congress practically since he took office — especially Congressional Republicans. But now, with the media outraged over his handling of investigations into national security leaks, Republicans are looking into whether he may have lied to Congress about those investigations.
Rand Paul uses 13-hour filibuster to stall John Brennan’s ultimately successful nomination
Sen. Rand Paul spent 13 hours on a talking filibuster to stall the nomination of John Brennan to head up the CIA. With bipartisan concern over drone strikes aimed at Americans overseas, some are concerned drones could also be used on American soil in the future.
Congress, Attorney General in stare-down over contempt, executive privilege
The Fast and Furious operation, led by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in Arizona, has been a political controversy for months. But things got much more heated Wednesday when President Barack Obama asserted executive privilege for not handing the documents over, while Congress moved to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt.
U.S. attorneys appointed to investigate top secret intelligence leaks
Bowing to increasing pressure from Congress, the Obama administration announced that it had appointed two U.S. attorney to investigate who is behind leaks about top secret U.S. intelligence and military programs. This continues a pattern of aggressively prosecuting leakers under the Obama administration.