WASHINGTON: Eric Holder, formerly second in charge at the Justice Department, is President-elect Barack Obama's top choice to become attorney general, an Obama official and people close to the matter said Tuesday. Holder's selection would mark Obama's first step toward filling his Cabinet, and he would become the nation's first black attorney general if confirmed by the Senate.
A member of Obama's foreign policy working group, Holder also would be called on to help close the Guantanamo Bay military prison, as Obama has promised to do, and prosecute terrorism suspects.
Holder (57) was deputy attorney general during Bill Clinotn's presidency and is a former judge and US attorney in Washington, and is widely respected in legal circles and among Justice Department career lawyers. He has been on Obama's short list to be attorney general since before the election, and already has had private conversations about how he would run the department.
One of his top priorities, according to a person familiar with his thinking, is to rebuild the department's reputation after its fiercely independent image was tarnished by charges of political meddling by the White House during the Bush administration.
Holder has been one of Obama's most trusted advisors. He was a member of the team that helped select Joe Biden as Obama's running mate.
Soruce:http://www.mid-day.com/news/2008/nov/191108-Eric-Holder-Obama-Joe-Biden-Guantanamo-Bay.htm
A member of Obama's foreign policy working group, Holder also would be called on to help close the Guantanamo Bay military prison, as Obama has promised to do, and prosecute terrorism suspects.
Holder (57) was deputy attorney general during Bill Clinotn's presidency and is a former judge and US attorney in Washington, and is widely respected in legal circles and among Justice Department career lawyers. He has been on Obama's short list to be attorney general since before the election, and already has had private conversations about how he would run the department.
One of his top priorities, according to a person familiar with his thinking, is to rebuild the department's reputation after its fiercely independent image was tarnished by charges of political meddling by the White House during the Bush administration.
Holder has been one of Obama's most trusted advisors. He was a member of the team that helped select Joe Biden as Obama's running mate.
Soruce:http://www.mid-day.com/news/2008/nov/191108-Eric-Holder-Obama-Joe-Biden-Guantanamo-Bay.htm
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