Eric Holder

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."

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