Eric Holder, Attorney General?

Huffington Post - LARA JAKES JORDAN and MATT APUZZO November 19, 2008


"Throughout his career as a judge, a prosecutor and a defense attorney for the prestigious law firm Covington & Burling, Holder's independence rarely has been questioned. But one of his final acts as President Bill Clinton's deputy attorney general in 2001 could come back to haunt him as he seeks Senate confirmation for the Justice Department's top job.
On the last day of Clinton's term, Holder told the White House he was "neutral, leaning toward favorable" regarding a presidential pardon for Marc Rich, a wealthy commodities dealer who had spent years running from tax charges. Rich's ex-wife, Denise, was a prominent Democratic Party donor.
It turned out to be a bad call. The pardon provoked howls of protests and a congressional investigation over whether it was politically motivated. Holder later publicly apologized for what he called a snap decision and said he would have advised against it had he paid more attention to the case."

"Holder has been in private practice since 2001 and some of his cases remain before the Justice Department. He is handling civil case negotiations for the Chiquita International Brands, which claims it was forced to agree to a plea deal and $25 million fine to avoid indictment over security payments the company made to a right-wing Colombian paramilitary group that the U.S. government designated as a terrorist group.
A group suing the company said Wednesday it has raised concerns with the Senate Judiciary Committee about Holder's defense of Chiquita in lawsuits seeking payment for the families of people who were killed by the terrorists. The group _ Earth Rights International _ wants senators to question Holder's human-rights credentials because he has argued that there is no evidence linking killings in Colombia to Chiquita." See full article here...