Holder says criminal investigation still ongoing re: Gusher in the Gulf

Politico evidently filched a story from CBS's Bob Schieffer during his taping of this Sunday's Face the Nation, which they published this evening:

Attorney General Eric Holder signaled here that the Justice Department may be conducting a sweeping criminal investigation into the Gulf Coast oil spill, saying that its suspected targets may cover more than just BP.


"There are a variety of entities and a variety of people who are the subjects of that investigation," Holder told CBS' Bob Schieffer at the Aspen Ideas Festival. "For people to conclude that BP is the focus of this investigation might not be correct."

Holder said he wouldn't go "any further" when Schieffer asked if it might be correct to assume BP could still be the main target, and he "wouldn't put a timetable" on when any indictments might come down.

*snip*

On Thursday, Holder said the investigation was "ongoing," adding that federal officials were reviewing documents, collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses in both of the probes. He added that there has been a "certain commonality of the way oil companies had been operating" in the Gulf when asked if BP was doing anything different than others in the industry – though he didn't go into specifics.

 Hang 'em High Eric..bust all their balls dude....every last friggin company who cut corners in order to save a couple of bucks and/or wanted to get the drill operational asap, regardless of safety regulations or concerns. What is happening to the ecosystem and the wildlife in the Gulf is nothing short of criminal.

Holder to name a special prosecutor.

The SP will be investigating torture abuses.

But wait! Before you get all giddy, its not what you think. According to the Chicago Tribune, it's going to be "narrow" in scope, focusing on "whether people went beyond the techniques that were authorized" in Bush administration memos known for their extreme interpretations of anti-torture laws.

From Jurist:

US Attorney General Eric Holder profile; is expected to name a special prosecutor who will be tasked with investigating the alleged abuse of detainees and other terrorism suspects by CIA interrogators, according to a Sunday Los Angeles Times report. The report cites a senior Department of Justice official who says that Holder will limit the probe to determining whether individuals went beyond authorized techniques when interrogating suspects. The official said that no final decision has been made, but last month it was reported that Holder had requested a list of 10 possible candidates.

This probe is merely window dressing folks. According to the LAT, it will be almost impossible to get a conviction. So why is he doing this?

Bullshit and bravado? He will be wasting money on an investigation that will do nothing to the assholes that allowed detainee's to be tortured in the first place. This quote says it all:

"I don't blame them for wanting to look into it," said a former high-ranking Justice Department official familiar with the details of the program. "But if they appoint a special prosecutor, it would ultimately be unsuccessful, and it would go on forever and cause enormous collateral damage on the way to getting that unsuccessful result."

Such a waste of resources wouldn't you say?

Special Prosecutor? Perhaps...

Several media outlets are reporting this morning that Eric Holder is leaning towards appointing a Special Prosecutor to investigate the Bush Administration's war crimes in relation to torture. The story they are all linking to is this one from Newsweek. An excerpt:

....Four knowledgeable sources tell NEWSWEEK that he is now leaning toward appointing a prosecutor to investigate the Bush administration's brutal interrogation practices, something the president has been reluctant to do. While no final decision has been made, an announcement could come in a matter of weeks, say these sources, who decline to be identified discussing a sensitive law-enforcement matter. Such a decision would roil the country, would likely plunge Washington into a new round of partisan warfare, and could even imperil Obama's domestic priorities, including health care and energy reform. Holder knows all this, and he has been wrestling with the question for months. "I hope that whatever decision I make would not have a negative impact on the president's agenda," he says. "But that can't be a part of my decision."

Upholding the law should be the only thing Holder thinks about when deciding whether to appoint a Prosecutor to look into the torture issue. AP adds this:

Holder is considering whether to appoint a prosecutor and will make a final decision within the next few weeks, a Justice Department official told The Associated Press. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on a pending matter.

Come on Eric, do the right thing...go after these pompous fuckwits..please!

The Rethugs are not part of the solution, they are part of the problem. Alienating them is no big deal as the bastards have become the Party of No. There is no bipartisanship in DC..so fuck the bastards and go after Bush, Cheney, Yoo, et. al. Especially after this story hit the newswires. Dick Cheney is a liar and a carpetbagging douchenozzle. He relished keeping Congress in the dark..and actually had the CIA lie to them. No one deserves to be brought down like The Big Dick Cheney™. No one.

“justice delayed is justice denied.” - Or so sayeth Holder.

And to that end, Eric Holder will not be investigating 'war crimes' committed by Bush and his administration.

I shit you not. Jonathan Turley says so here. I will snip the important part:

In a major decision, Attorney General Eric Holder has announced that he has found that the Justice Department has acted improperly in barring any criminal investigation of well-documented war crimes committed by the Bush Administration in the torture program. To punish the failure of the Department to act in a timely fashion, he has announced that no criminal charges will be pursued regarding torture to teach prosecutors a lesson that “justice delayed is justice denied.”

On April 1, 2009, Holder held a press conference in which he was angry over the failure over Acting Associate Attorney General Daniel Marcus and Lanny Breuer, head of the Criminal Division, to even investigate the commission of war crimes despite a public record of the crime.

I am flummoxed folks. What.A.Bunch.Of.Horseshit.

Video when available.

AG Holder changes FOIA guidelines.

Thursday, Holder released new guidelines for complying with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). His intent is to make government more accessible and transparent. From Jurist:

The new guidelines, designed to increase transparency in government, will rescind the Attorney General's FOIA Memorandum of October 12, 2001, which stated that the Department of Justice would defend decisions to withhold records "unless they lack a sound legal basis or present an unwarranted risk of adverse impact on the ability of other agencies to protect other important records." Instead, the Department of Justice will defend a denial of a FOIA request only if (1) the agency reasonably foresees that disclosure would harm an interest protected by one of the statutory exemptions, or (2) disclosure is prohibited by law.

This is a good thing for severals reasons and on many levels. In January, President Obama released a memo directing all department heads and agencies to lean towards transparency when dealing with FOIA requests. A section of his directive below:

All agencies should adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure, in order to renew their commitment to the principles embodied in FOIA, and to usher in a new era of open Government. The presumption of disclosure should be applied to all decisions involving FOIA.

The presumption of disclosure also means that agencies should take affirmative steps to make information public. They should not wait for specific requests from the public. All agencies should use modern technology to inform citizens about what is known and done by their Government. Disclosure should be timely.

I direct the Attorney General to issue new guidelines governing the FOIA to the heads of executive departments and agencies, reaffirming the commitment to accountability and transparency.

Good on ya President Obama...good on ya dude.

Not everyone is happy with Eric Holder as AG.

I know I am not, based on his pov on cannabis use and prosecution. His big love for big business doesn't endear him to me either. As this writeup over at Law.com states, both sides of the aisle don't like Mr. Holder for quite a few reasons:

* The right. The Republican Liberty Caucus says: "For years, Eric Holder has worked to degrade our civil liberties and weaken the Constitution and the values on which our nation was founded."

* The left. TalkLeft is not happy about Holder's efforts while U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., "to raise marijuana penalties and restore mandatory minimum penalties for drug crimes."

* The legalization lobby. NORML Blog expresses concern about Holder's "long history of opposing drug policy reforms, perceiving cannabis smoking by adults as a public nuisance worthy of constant harassment, promoting violent governmental intervention into the private lives of citizens who consume cannabis."

* Free speech advocates. The Legal Satyricon says Holder "has a censorship goon past." NewsBusters suggests Holder would "stifle free speech on the internet."

* Civil libertarians. The blog Wizbang Blue accuses Holder of "pandering to religious right organizations" on separation of church and state.

Even legendary trial lawyer Gerry Spence is not pleased. Calling him "Eric Holden," Spence says that when a lawyer works long enough for big corporations, as Holder did as partner at a corporate law firm, "the human psyche begins to dry up and one day will fall out on the carpet of the boardroom floor ... like a dried up old prune." Let us just hope that doesn't happen until after the confirmation hearings.

Working from the middle is one thing, pandering to the wingnut base or the corporatocracy is entirely another. The Rethugs of course will slam him about the Marc Rich pardon..that is a given. But it is very strange to find myself agreeing with anything the right says..very strange feeling indeed. Below is Mr. Holder speaking about limiting free speech:


Tags: Eric Holder, Attorney General