INSIDE WASHINGTON: GOP lays down marker on Holder
By LARRY MARGASAK
Associated Press
January 8, 2009
Page 2 of 2
But this week the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, said that "aside from these qualifications on Mr. Holder's resume, there is also the issue of character."
Specter said that to get his support, Holder must give satisfactory explanations of several matters:
--His statement that he was "neutral leaning towards favorable" on the Rich pardon.
--Testimony several years ago by Rich's attorney that Holder advised him to go straight to the White House rather than follow the regular procedure through the Justice Department's pardon attorney.
--Whether Holder, as the top adviser to then-Attorney General Janet Reno, yielded to the Clinton administration's wishes when Reno declined to appoint an independent counsel to investigate fundraising by then-Vice President Al Gore.
--Holder's role in reducing sentences for members of the FALN, a Puerto Rican nationalist group that was responsible for bombings, kidnappings and other events that resulted in six deaths and numerous injuries from 1974 to 1983.
Holder already has apologized for the Rich pardon, saying it was a mistake. And he did recommend that the Justice Department allow Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr to expand an investigation into Clinton's sexual relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
The Judiciary Committee chairman, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, said the Republican decision to target Holder "all started when Rove went on TV to say this is a person we should go after. Some are so used to taking marching orders they can't get out of the habit."
As for the Rich pardon, Leahy said, those who followed the issue "blame Bill Clinton. ... They don't blame Eric Holder."
Specter, known for his independence and serious study of judiciary issues, is less an ideologue than his conservative colleagues.
"This guy has serious questions to answer," he said in an interview. "I'm not flexing political muscles."
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