Holder Takes Conciliatory Tone in Opening Statement
Eric Holder acknowledges past mistakes in a prepared opening statement for hearings beginning today on his nomination for attorney general.
The statement doesn’t delve into specific issues, such as his endorsement of controversial pardons while serving in the Justice Department under Attorney General Janet Reno. But it does take “a conciliatory tone,” the Associated Press reports.
“My decisions were not always perfect” at the Department of Justice, Holder says. “I made mistakes. I hope that enough of my decisions were correct.”
“But with the benefit of hindsight, I can see my errors clearly, and I can tell you how I have learned from them.”
A section of the statement appears to address concerns about whether he is strong enough to be independent of the president. The Justice Department must serve “not any one president, not any political party, but the people,” Holder says. He alludes to his prosecution of a fellow Democrat, former U.S. Rep. Dan Rostenkowski, as a U.S. attorney and says he recommended an independent counsel investigation of former President Clinton.
In the prepared remarks, Holder also pledges to be tough in the fight against terrorism and financial fraud, the Wall Street Journal reports. “As taxpayers are asked to rescue large segments of our economy, they have a right to demand accountability for wrongdoing that only DOJ can provide,” he says.
A New York Times preview of the confirmation hearing says it is expected to be a “rough-and-tumble affair,” but Holder is expected to win approval anyway.
