"One truly horrendous confirmation"

The Boston Globe reports that Eric Holder, President-elect Barack Obama's pick for attorney general, will face some spirited questioning during his Senate confirmation hearings on January 15:

Judiciary Committee staff members have pulled more than 150 boxes from their archives and have been poring over internal memos and transcripts from Holder's tenure at the Department of Justice.

Republicans have also asked the Justice Department and the Clinton Presidential Library for documents relating to, among other things, Clinton's impeachment, former vice president Al Gore's fund-raising activities during the 1996 presidential campaign, the 1993 federal raid on the Branch Davidian complex in Waco, Texas, and the pardon of financier Marc Rich.

And on Dec. 17, Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Holder asking him to account for "apparent omissions" in his questionnaire, including work on gaming that Holder did in 2004 for Rod Blagojevich, the beleaguered Illinois governor.

One senior Republican Senate aide, who agreed to discuss Holder's nomination only on the condition of anonymity, said GOP senators are not necessarily looking to derail his appointment, but to force a careful review. "No one on our side wants to filibuster or slow down this nominee; that's not the issue," the aide said.

[…]

Some Republicans and analysts say Holder may also be pressed on his past support for gun control measures. In January 2008, he joined several former Justice Department officials in urging the Supreme Court to uphold Washington's ban on handguns. (The court later struck it down.)

Whole thing here. I examined Holder's troubling views on the Second Amendment here.

Comments

[John C. Randolph]

This could be fun. I wonder if any of the Democrats are going to say "Hey, we let you assholes have Ashcroft and Gonzales! Let us have our own constitution-shredder, you selfish bastards!"

-jcr

[Nigel Watt]

JCR, that's probably two tics too transparent, but otherwise right on.

[Jiff Woods]

Wow, I think you might just be on to something here. Well done.

jess
http://www.privacy-center.ru.tc

[Episiarch]

Sadly, they won't be grilling him about drug war crap. The GOP is A-OK with drug warriors.

[Joel]

I will be genuinely shocked if that confirmation hearing is anything but a rubber stamp. The "leadership" might let the Repubs get a few shots in, just for effect, but no way he's getting Borked on his record.

No matter how much he deserves it.

[R C Dean]

Eric Holder is a one-man target-rich environment with a paper trail a mile wide. Let's hope the Repubs are too pissed off about their drubbing to fall back into flaccid Senatorial accomodation on this one. Surely Obama can do better than the ethically inert and politically pliable Eric Holder for AG.

[Brendan Perez]

Janet Reno's former 'Number one' is the best Obama can do?

Despite the language of the amendment, he doesn't think that the 2nd is an individual right? What a great choice for the person who will be in charge of the JUSTICE department and, by extension, the ATF.

Perhaps we can get an AG who believes the 4th amendment doesn't protect individuals, only state governments, from being searched without warrants. I suppose the 3rd amendment means that the feds can't forcibly quarter troops in the governor's mansion; the 5th only protects state government property from being seized without compensation while the 6th only protects state employees right to jury trials and double jeopardy protection, the 7th only guarantees jury trials in civil suits to government workers, and the 8th only protects government employees from cruel and unusual punishment.

While we're at it, let's appoint someone to head the FCC who believes the 1st amendment doesn't protect an individual right to free speech, but rather a "collective" right wherein the government can supplant individual radio and television stations with it's "State National Broadcast" thereby deprecating privately owned stations and justifying their closure.

[joe]

Republicans have also asked the Justice Department and the Clinton Presidential Library for documents relating to, among other things, Clinton's impeachment, former vice president Al Gore's fund-raising activities during the 1996 presidential campaign, the 1993 federal raid on the Branch Davidian complex in Waco, Texas, and the pardon of financier Marc Rich.

Company...present arms!

Right foot forward! Ready...aim downward...FIRE!

[Other Matt]

While we're at it, let's appoint someone to head the FCC who believes the 1st amendment doesn't protect an individual right to free speech, but rather a "collective" right wherein the government can supplant individual radio and television stations with it's "State National Broadcast" thereby deprecating privately owned stations and justifying their closure.

That's already done, and coming back soon for an extended stay. It's just called "The Fairness Doctrine". joe can explain it to you, his types are the one who think it's great.

[joe]

Yeah, the Fairness Doctrine! Totally coming back.

Booga booga! Please, wingnuts, put all your energy into beating off the imminent threat of the Fairness Doctrine.

[joe]

I heard the Fairness Doctrine threw Vince Foster out of a black helicopter.

But you didn't hear it from me.