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Eric Holder

Attorney General (since February 2009)

(Sarah L. Voisin/TWP)

Why He Matters

Holder, a supporter of Barack Obama's presidential bid from its inception, was Obama's choice for the crucial post of attorney general. Holder knows the Justice Department well; he spent most of his long legal career there, and he was deputy attorney general under Janet Reno during the Clinton administration.

Holder spent the first 12 years of his career prosecuting corruption in the government, and worked as a judge, a U.S. attorney and the deputy attorney general before entering the private sector. Because of his reputation as a reformer, many Democrats see Holder as the perfect candidate to head up Justice.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: Partner at Covington & Burling LLP (July 2001 to December 2008); Deputy Attorney General of the United States (1997 to 2001); United States Attorney for the District of Columbia (1993 to 1997); Associate Judge of the District of Columbia Superior Court (1988 to 1993)
Birthday: January 21, 1951
Hometown: New York, N.Y.

Alma Mater: Columbia College, B.A., 1973; Columbia College, J.D., 1976
Spouse: Sharon Denise Malone
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Path to Power

Holder was raised in Elmhurst, Queens, by his father, a real-estate agent who emigrated from Barbados, and his mother, a secretary for his parish priest. He earned a degree in American history from Columbia University and later received his law degree from Columbia as well, clerking for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund while in school.

Directly out of law school, Holder got a job in the Justice Department, where he stayed for the next 12 years. He was assigned to the Department's Public Integrity unit, an elite group that prosecutes corrupt public servants. He played an integral role in the convictions of Gov. Arch Moore (R-W.Va.) and Rep. John W. Jenrette (D-S.C.), and he was considered a rising star in the department.

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At age 37, Holder moved on to just his second job after law school. President Ronald Reagan nominated him to become an associate judge of the D.C. Superior Court. For the next five years, he ruled on a variety of cases. He worked in misdemeanor court, the criminal division and juvenile court, and he developed a judicial philosophy that was both harsh on crime and conciliatory. He developed a preference for rehabilitation over punitive sentences. He often would let witnesses and defendants talk back to him in court, saying, "Justice is more likely to be done in an atmosphere in which everybody feels comfortable."

At the time, Holder said the job was difficult for him because as a judge, all he saw was victims and defendants, many of whom were young black males. "I mean, it's not an easy thing to deal with, if you are a person who's concerned about the black community, to see what ought to be the future standing before you charged with some sort of criminal offense," he said. During his free time, he volunteered with Concerned Black Men, an organization of professionals that mentors inner-city youth. He has continued to work with that group throughout his career. When he became a judge, Holder said he thought he would be on the bench until he retired, but five years later, he was nominated for another government job, as a prosecutor. "I liked being a judge, but I ultimately began to feel like I was a referee in a game where I still wanted to be a player," Holder said.

U.S. Attorney for District of Columbia

In 1993, President Clinton nominated Holder to serve as the first black U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, which boasts the largest U.S. attorney's office in the country. The office prosecutes federal crimes and international crimes that occur in the nation's capital. It also acts as the local district attorney's office for Washington, D.C. At the time, murder rates in the District were at an all-time high and the crack epidemic was reaching its peak. The New Republic described Holder as "a liberal Democrat with a squeaky-clean past" who "turned out to be a crime-fighter." He impressed many people and thought about going into politics, mulling a run for D.C. mayor before deciding against it.

In 1993, Holder's first major task as a U.S. attorney was to lead the investigation into Rep. Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.), the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and a Clinton ally. Rostenkowski pleaded guilty to two counts of mail fraud stemming from the congressional post office scandal. Because Holder was appointed by Clinton, there were questions about whether Holder would want to keep investigating the partisan case. "He reassured us that he wanted us to follow the evidence," said Wendy Wysong, who prosecuted matters related to the post office.

Deputy Attorney General

In 1997, Clinton appointed Holder to serve under Janet Reno as deputy attorney general, the No. 2 Justice slot. In that role, Holder oversaw 125,000 employees and a $22 billion budget. Many thought Reno wouldn't last Clinton's entire second term, opening up the possibility that Holder would become the first black U.S. attorney general. "I had a certain hesitation about it because it seemed more managerial than I would have liked. And I was also moving from a No. 1 position to a No. 2 position," he said. Ultimately, he would call his job as deputy attorney general the "most physically demanding job that I ever had."

During his first stint at DOJ, Holder altered the way the department handled corporate cases, issuing the "Holder Memorandum," which laid out the guidelines for attorney-client privilege for corporate employees. As part of the Justice Department, he started Lawyers for One America to improve the diversity of the legal field, and he expanded community-based prosecution around the country, encouraging prosecutors to get to know their communities as he was able to do in Washington.

He also advised Reno to expand Kenneth Starr's investigation into Clinton's relationship with Monica Lewinsky. He even served a short period of time as acting attorney general after President George W. Bush was elected and before attorney general John Ashcroft was confirmed. Despite all that, he was most famous for advising Clinton to pardon financier Marc Rich.

Private Sector

Upon leaving the Justice Department, Holder joined the law firm of Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C. He brokered large settlements for Merck pharmaceutical company with the U.S. government and for Chiquita Brands in Colombia, and he reviewed dogfighting allegations against Michael Vick while he was representing the NFL. He acted as a lobbyist on behalf of biotechnology firm Large Scale Biology Corp., and Global Crossing, a telecommunications company that filed one of the largest bankruptcies in 2002 before hiring Holder to convince Congress not to block their acquisition.

In 2004, Holder met Obama at a dinner party hosted by former White House aide Anne Walker Marchange, niece of Clinton friend Vernon Jordan. In the spring of 2007, shortly after announcing his presidential campaign, Obama asked Holder to join him. Holder served as a legal adviser and strategist and led Obama's vice presidential search committee. After Obama won the presidency, he appointed Holder to be the first black Attorney General of the United States.

The Issues

Holder described his judicial philosophy to Ebony magazine in 1994: "You have to be held accountable," he said. "You have to be responsible for your acts. You can't make excuses for the things that you do. And you have to expect that if you do negative things, there are going to be negative consequences for it." He has applied that philosophy not just to the politicians he investigated during his first 12 years at the Justice Department, but also to juveniles in his courtroom and police officers in his community.

Reformer

During his seven-plus years working as a U.S. attorney and deputy attorney general, Holder developed a reputation as a reformer.

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When he became U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Holder worked to rehabilitate the image that the attorneys' office had developed over a dozen years of management by white Republicans from outside the city. He reached out to the community, speaking at schools several times per week and adopting a school in Southwest Washington.

He required assistant U.S. attorneys to stay for four years rather than move into one of the city's big law firms after just three, and he assigned his attorneys to geographical areas so they would get to know neighborhoods, crime scenes, possible witnesses and possible suspects. "I don't think this office has a relationship with this city in the way that perhaps a typical D.A.'s office does in other cities," he said. "If they're comfortable with our office, then I think our people don't go into these trials - as I think they have in the past - kind of behind." He also created a Domestic Violence Unit, so his office would be more efficient at prosecuting domestic violence cases.

Trying Alleged Terrorists

In August 2009, Holder made news when he appointed a special prosecutor, John Durham, to probe alleged misconduct by the CIA in its interrogation of terror subjects during the George W. Bush administration. Durham is already probing whether there were criminal violations in the destruction of CIA videotapes depicting such interrogations.

But it was an attempted terror act under Obama's watch that sparked a heated debate between Holder and Republicans. Holder announced that the administration would try Christmas Day 2009 bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in civilian courts rather than through a military tribunal.

"The decision to charge Mr. Abdulmutallab in federal court, and the methods used to interrogate him, are fully consistent with the long-established and publicly known policies and practices of the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the United States Government as a whole, as implemented for many years by Administrations of both parties," Holder wrote in a February 2010 letter to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). "Those policies and practices, which were not criticized when employed by previous Administrations, have been and remain extremely effective in protecting national security. They are among the many powerful weapons this country can and should use to win the war against al-Qaeda."

But Holder quickly caved to a pulic outcry over plans to try alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in a civilian court near Ground Zero where the World Trade Center once stood.

Financial Fraud

In January 2010, set in Palm Beach, Fla., "ground-zero" for Bernie Madoff's $65 billion Ponzi scheme, Holder announced a new program at the DOJ to fight financial fraud. The interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force will focus on rooting out four types of financial crimes: Mortgage fraud, securities fraud, Recovery Act and rescue fraud and financial discrimination.

This task force will use 2010 budget increases that allowed the AG offices to hire over 40 investigators to solely focus on financial crimes. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will also hire 50 more agents to help stop financial fraud.

"To those who see victimization of others as an avenue to wealth, take notice: If you fabricate a financial statement, if you propagate an investment scheme, if you are complicit in an act of financial fraud, you are writing your ticket to jail," said Holder.

Marc Rich Pardon

Holder is also remembered for what he did on his last day as deputy attorney general: agree with Clinton's decision to pardon longtime fugitive Marc Rich. Rich had been indicted by a grand jury on 65 counts ranging from allegations that he hid $100 million in taxable income to accusations that he had traded with Iran while Americans were held hostage in that country. While Rich stayed abroad and avoided extradition, his companies pleaded guilty to 78 felony counts and paid $200 million in fines.

Rich, whose ex-wife had donated $400,000 to the Clinton presidential library, hired a team of lawyer led by Jack Quinn, formerly chief of staff for Al Gore and Clinton White House counsel. Normally, pardon requests are submitted through the Justice Department, which dedicates a staff to reviewing them. Quinn skipped the typical pardon procedure and went straight to the White House. He claims that was Holder's recommendation, something Holder denies. The U.S. New York attorney's office strongly opposed the Rich pardon and it would likely have been rejected if Quinn had gone through the normal channels.

Quinn and Holder discussed Rich, although the details of when and for how long remain unclear. Quinn said he spoke to Holder multiple times about the pardon, starting as early as November 2000.

The Justice Department said it didn't learn about the pardon request until the day before Clinton issued the pardon and had to scour the Internet to get information about Rich. That night, Holder talked with White House Counsel Beth Nolan and said his opinion was "neutral, leaning toward favorable."

Both Quinn and Holder said there was no quid pro quo, and Holder said the Rich pardon "was not something that ever commanded a lot of my attention while I was there." Nevertheless, The Washington Post said in March 2001 that "'neutral, leaning towards favorable' could become [Holder's] epitaph."

The Network

Though he worked in the Clinton administration, Holder did not think twice about abandoning Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and joining Barack Obama's presidential campaign in its early stages. "My inclination would be to support Sen. Clinton, but I was overwhelmed by Barack," Holder said.

Holder worked closely with Caroline Kennedy during Obama's vice presidential vetting process. His wife, Sharon Malone, delivered White House chief of staff-designate Rahm Emanuel's baby.

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