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From political litmus tests in its hiring process to its justifications for wiretapping and torture, the Justice Department was the epicenter of George W. Bush's most controversial policies. So more than any other nominee to Barack Obama's Cabinet, would-be Attorney General Eric Holder - a former District of Columbia Superior Court judge and Deputy Attorney General during Bill Clinton's presidency - should expect his time before the Senate to be a referendum on the departing President. (See who's who in Obama's White House...
...Republicans prefer, would he leave the past behind? And what about his willingness to stand up to his boss and friend? As the Judiciary Committee's ranking Republican, Arlen Specter, put it, "[Holder] has an outstanding academic and professional record ... But sometimes it is more important for the Attorney General to have the stature and the courage to say no instead of to say yes." (See the top 10 contested officeholders...
...Holder, currently a partner in the prestigious Washington law firm Covington & Burling, has kept with tradition and stayed mum in advance of the hearing. But an Obama transition official says that Holder believes the Attorney General should "serve the American people, not the President, not any one political party," and base decisions solely on law and fact. He added that apart from strengthening DOJ's role in counterterrorism, Holder's principle objective would be to "restore credibility" to the department...
...There is plenty of evidence that Holder can turn a blind eye to politics. As U.S. Attorney in 1996, Holder prosecuted and sent to prison Representative Dan Rostenkowski, one of the most powerful Democrats in Congress. Two years later, as Deputy Attorney General, he gave independent counsel Kenneth Starr the legal authority to probe into Monica Lewinsky's relationship with President Clinton...
...Miss Torti is disappointed by the ruling, and we do think it will have negative repercussions here in California," says Torti's attorney, Jody Steinberg. "How it will affect the rest of the country, whether they will follow the supreme court's ruling is yet to be seen." Steinberg warns, "Here in California, one of these days we can have another earthquake, and the question is, Do you want people to help or do you want people to be thinking about whether they're going to get sued?" Van Horn's attorney, Robert B. Hutchinson, did not return several calls...