Why eric holder should resign

The Atlantic Crossword. Sign In Subscribe. What if the Department of Justice knew that scores of Americans were in jail for committing acts that were not in fact illegal, but made no effort to identify the wrongfully imprisoned and refused to release prisoners known to be innocent?

You'd think it would be a scandal. Perhaps the biggest yet under Attorney General Eric Holder, presently under fire in the Fast and Furious investigation. As it turns out, the news would go mostly ignored. That's now known because last week, reporter Brad Heath broke the story described above in a national publication: A USA TODAY investigation, based on court records and interviews with government officials and attorneys, found more than 60 men who went to prison for violating federal gun possession laws, even though courts have since determined that it was not a federal crime for them to have a gun.

Many of them don't even know they're innocent. Still, the Justice Department has not attempted to identify the men, has made no effort to notify them, and, in a few cases in which the men have come forward on their own, has argued in court that they should not be released.

He will remain at the Department of Justice until his post is filled. This article is more than 7 years old. Holder, 63, to announce later on Thursday that he is leaving his role as head of the Justice Department Steven W Thrasher: how much can Holder get done on race before he steps down?

He has served our country very well, but the message is that the attorney general will be submitting his resignation to the president. He had previously been the US attorney for the District of Columbia and then deputy attorney general under Bill Clinton, and a judge in Washington. In office, he pushed hard to reform federal sentencing laws and guidelines, trying to tackle wildly disproportionate incarceration rates for young black men and proposing sweeping reductions in sentences for non-violent drug offences.

In June , the House voted to hold Holder in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over documents linked to that operation. Darrell Issa, who lead the contempt proceedings, called Holder "the most divisive U.

Attorney General in modern history. Patrick Leahy of Vermont said. Lawmakers weigh in on Eric Holder's resignation. Leahy also pointed to the attorney general's work on sentencing reforms and efforts to reduce recidivism rates. Those sentiments were echoed by Rep. Marcia Fudge, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.

She said Holder's departure "will leave a significant void in this administration and in our nation. The attorney general is one of only three remaining members of Obama's original Cabinet.

In , Holder described his first meeting with Obama, which occurred just after Obama was elected to the U. Senate in And we saw that we had a lot of similar views and so we just started a relationship that was casual," Holder said. Some conservatives: Holder playing racial politics. Holder was sworn in as the 82nd attorney general in February after serving as President Bill Clinton's deputy attorney general, the first African-American to serve in that position.

Previously, the Columbia Law School graduate was U. Attorney for the District of Columbia and served during President Ronald Reagan's administration as an associate judge at the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Holder unveils program to counter recruiting by extremist groups.