Holder: Swartz Case a "Good Use of Prosecutorial Discretion"

Apparently attempting to browbeat defendants into accepting pleas is discretion

Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday said the suicide death of internet activist Aaron Swartz was a "tragedy," but the hacking case against the 26-year-old was "a good use of prosecutorial discretion."

Holder, the nation's top prosecutor, is the highest-ranking member of the President Barack Obama administration to defend the indictment and prosecution of the former director of Demand Progress, who committed suicide in January as his April trial approached. Holder's comments come seven weeks after Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz, whose office was prosecuting Swartz, said the authorities' actions were "appropriate in bringing and handling this case."

The attorney general was testifying at a Justice Department oversight hearing before the Senate Judiciary committee and was facing terse questioning from Sen. John Cornyn (D-Texas).