Rolling Back the Fog at Justice Posted by Adam Blickstein

Plenty of others have dissected Eric Holder's record, both in substance and rhetoric, so I'm going to try and steer clear from digging too deep into his past. But one thing has become clear in the reaction Holder's nomination, and indeed within reaction to most of Obama's nominees: these are seasoned professionals with long track records who couldn't be further from the cronyism and malfeasance that occurred under President Bush. But one problem with putting seasoned professionals into these posts is that long track-records don't tend to please 100% of the traditional and online punditry 100% of the time. Of course I think it's completely instructive to try and deduce how nominees like Holder will perform in their respective capacities by examining their histories, but this exercise is also fraught with the peril. It tends to create a sort of self-fulfilling disappointment since many times, folks trying to discern the philosophies of future cabinet officials invariably find reasons to be pessimistic rather than find footholds for optimism. And the Attorney General's office, with its broad legal authority and history of abuse and disorder under President Bush's reign, is particularly vulnerable to this type of analysis.

For me, the greatest asset of Holder's nomination, is that, with over 20 years at Justice, he intimately understands both the pre-Bush, pre-politicized culture there.  In fact, Holder would be the first Attorney General since Dick Thornburgh became AG in 1988 who's actually spent a substantial part of (and actually made) his career at Justice itself. That in and of itself makes Holder a unique and important pick, one that is as much of a "cultural" departure as it is ideological. In a department that is so vital to both protecting the nation and the constitution, but one which has been rotted by a political infestation and a blanketing "fog of law" from failed leadership under Ashcroft/Gonzalez/Mukasey, having such a deep institutional knowledge is critical for both internal and external reasons.

Holder has rightly cited that one of the central issues at Justice are the internal personnel and morale problems coupled with an external crisis of confidence. He has also pretty consistently reiterated that the Justice Department's role is to, as he said today, "ensure not only that the nation is safe but also that our laws and traditions are respected." This is the critical policy issue facing Holder at Justice: how not only to roll back the abuses that occurred at Justice under the Bush administration, but also prosecute and protect us from terror while staying within the confines of the law and the constitution. On this litany of issues, he has intimated to exude the absolute antithesis of the Bush culture at Justice:

On Torture: “The notion that the Department of Justice would in essence sanction the use of torture as part of the President’s plenary power over military operations is as wrong as it is shortsighted. This position flies in the face of the entire history of American law, helping to create a climate in which unnecessarily abusive conduct can somehow be considered legitimate.” [Remarks to ACS Conference, 6/19/04]

“We must declare without qualification that it is the law, policy, and practice of the United States government that we do not torture people and we do not subject people to cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment.” [ACS Conference, 6/14/08]

On Closing Guantanamo: “Guantanamo Bay is an international embarrassment. Some of our closest allies see this prison as a symbol of what America has become. We should close Guantanamo Bay, transfer the remaining prisoners to military prisons in the United States.” [ACS Conference, 6/14/08]

On Warentless Wiretapping: “I never thought I would see that a President would act in direct defiance of Federal law by authorizing warentless NSA surveillance of American citizens. This disrespect for the rule of law is not only wrong it destructive in our struggle against terrorism.” [ACS Conference, 6/14/08]

As Obama has reiterated, his Government won't be an apparatus where one department or one cabinet official will dictate the policy in his or her own fiefdom. And while the AG is unique in that it has a tradition demanding more independence from the Executive (something Holder has previously pointed to) than other cabinet posts, on the major issues of tackling terror and protecting civil liberties, there is a clear picture that the "vision for change comes from" Obama. Most importantly, the policies underlying Obama's imperative to transform and reformulate our strategy to combat terror will be largely implemented by Holder. And with 20 plus years of experience at Justice, there are few people better suited to implement the change needed in terms of both shifting the policies and transforming the culture.