Friday, January 23, 2009

A Hold Put On Holder

President Barack Hussein Obama's Attorney General nominee, Eric Holder, has been stalled from getting voted in office yesterday. The Republicans asked for a week delay that the Democrats were required to grant under committee rules. But why the wait? Taking a closer look into Holders past and you will find he's got some interesting facts of his own..

• Many Americans remember the Elian Gonzalez incident in 2000, in which heavily-armed federal agents forcibly seized a 6-year old Cuban boy and returned him to Castro’s Cuba. Mr. Holder helped initiate the action, and was embarrassed when he was shown on national TV stating that agents had not taken the boy by force—while the shocking image associated with the raid appeared on-screen and infuriated Americans.

• Mr. Holder was in his role in the Justice Department during many of the controversial pardons issued at the end of the Clinton era. And that includes the pardon of two members of the Weather Underground terrorist group, both of whom were involved in the violent actions which characterized the 1960s group.

One of them, Susan Rosenberg, had been sentenced to 58 years in prison for possession of 700lbs of explosives and other illegal weaponry. She had also participated in a triple-homicide Brinks robbery. Upon hearing of her pardon, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) voiced his opposition, calling it a “terrible injustice.” The other terrorist, Linda Evans, had sentenced to 40 years for her involvement in the robbery. Five more years were added to her sentence for her role in several bombings, including that of the U.S. Capitol.

Of particular note is the fact that Barack Obama himself brought up Bill Clinton's pardon of the two Weather Underground members when he defended his relationship with Weather Underground leader Bill Ayers in a Democratic primary debate.
• The infamous pardon of Marc Rich also fell under Holder's purview. While his apologists claim that he did not have enough time to fully evaluate Mr. Rich before approving the pardon, the fact remains that Mr. Holder's signature of approval was upon the document handed to then-President Bill Clinton. Additionally, he appears to have been swayed by influence and power in deciding to support Rich.

At the time of the Holder-approved pardon, Marc Rich, was living in luxury as a fugitive from charges of tax evasion and illegal deal-making with Iran during the Iranian hostage crisis. His pardon came after his wife contributed large sums to the Clinton library and Democratic Party, causing many Republicans—and Democrats—to cry foul. Senators Charles Schumer and Russel Feingold joined then-Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle in voicing concern that the politics of money had played a role.

Is this someone you really want entrusted with upholding the law of the land?

H/T: ARRA