California Hires Eric Holder for Legal Fights Against Trump White House
California Hires Eric Holder for Legal Fights Against Trump White House
http://s4.freebeacon.com/up/2014/04/Holder1.jpgFormer Attorney General Eric Holder / AP
BY: Nick Bolger
January 4, 2017 10:18 am
Democratic leaders in the California Legislature announced Wednesday that they have hired Eric Holder, the former attorney general under President Obama, to represent them in legal battles with the Trump administration.
The Legislature now has Holder, currently a lawyer in Washington, D.C., on retainer to fight President-elect Donald Trump’s White House on issues such as immigration, the environment, and criminal justice, the New York Times reported.
“Having the former attorney general of the United States brings us a lot of firepower in order to prepare to safeguard the values of the people of California,” said Kevin de León, the Democratic leader of the state Senate, in an interview. “This means we are very, very serious.”
California’s state government is under almost complete Democratic control. The Democratic Party holds two-thirds of each legislative chamber and every statewide office. Legislative leaders in the state are expecting to battle the president-elect when he takes office.
“It was very clear that it wasn’t just campaign rhetoric,” León said of Trump’s policy proposals.
“He was surrounding himself with people who are a very clear and present danger to the economic prosperity of California.”
Holder is not the first high profile Democrat to be tapped by the California government for its upcoming legal battles with the Trump administration. Rep. Xavier Becerra retired from the U.S. Congress late last year in order to return to California as the state’s attorney general.
Mr. Holder, now a lawyer at the firm Covington & Burling, was President Obama’s attorney general from 2009-2015.
“I am honored that the Legislature chose Covington to serve as its legal adviser as it considers how to respond to potential changes in federal law that could impact California’s residents and policy priorities,” Holder said in a statement. “I am confident that our expertise across a wide array of federal legal and regulatory issues will be a great resource to the Legislature.”
The firm’s retainer fee has not yet been set but will be made public once it has been determined.
http://freebeacon.com/politics/calif...p-white-house/
California Hires Eric Holder to Lead Legal Fight Against Trump
by JEROME HUDSON
4 Jan 2017
744 comments
Democratic leaders of the California legislature have hired former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to represent the liberal state in future legal battles with the Trump administration.
“With the upcoming change in administrations, we expect that there will be extraordinary challenges for California in the uncertain times ahead,” California Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León and California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon wrote in a statement Wednesday.
“The Legislature will work with the Governor and our next Attorney General to protect California’s economy and our sensible policies on climate change, health care, civil rights and immigration,” the statement says. “The Legislature has retained the services of an expert legal team from the nationally-renowned Covington & Burling law firm, led by former United States Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr.”
Holder, who left the Obama administration in 2015, “will serve as outside counsel to the Legislature, advising us in our efforts to resist any attempts to roll back the progress California has made.”
“I am honored that the Legislature chose Covington to serve as its legal adviser as it considers how to respond to potential changes in federal law that could impact California’s residents and policy priorities,” Mr. Holder said in a statement, the New York Times reports. “I am confident that our expertise across a wide array of federal legal and regulatory issues will be a great resource to the Legislature.”
California lawmakers’ decision to tap Holder, a lifelong Democrat, seems fitting given his public criticism of Trump.
In October, Holder called then-Republican nominee Trump dangerous for implying he may prosecute Hillary Clinton for using a private email server without permission while she was Secretary of State, and destroying tens of thousands of emails on the server.
Follow
Eric Holder ✔ @EricHolder
Be afraid of any candidate who says he will order DOJ/FBI to act on his command This is dangerous/so is @realDonaldTrump-he's not qualified
8:17 PM - 9 Oct 2016
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Holder called FBI Director James Comey’s re-opening of Clinton’s private email case a “mistake,” and implied Trump’s election was “rigged” because of voter suppression.
But perhaps more troubling is that the Covington & Burling law firm, of which Holder is partner, has a history of punishing Republicans and protecting Democrats.
Holder’s tenure in the Obama White House was plagued by scandal, a fact not lost on one California lawmaker.
“It is not surprising that California Democrats would hire someone with a record of lawlessness to represent them,” Assemblyman Travis Allen’s wrote in a statement, responding to what he called the California Democrats’ “Fast and Furious” hiring of Holder.
“Eric Holder’s major accomplishments as Attorney General was allowing illegal gun running into Mexico with Fast and Furious and then being held in contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with the investigation,” said Allen. “The goal of the California Democrats is clear: an open border with no restrictions on human traffickers, gun runners and drug smugglers. Eric Holder has the record to help them accomplish this goal.”
http://www.breitbart.com/california/...l-fight-trump/
Issa Rips California for Hiring Holder — Millions Spent on ‘Somebody Who Probably Sho
Issa Rips California for Hiring Holder — Millions Spent on ‘Somebody Who Probably Shouldn’t Have a Law License’
by JEFF POOR
5 Jan 2017
(video at source link)
FOX & friends ✔ @foxandfriends
.@DarrellIssa: California hiring Holder to defend against Trump is a waste of taxpayer dollars
5:30 AM - 5 Jan 2017
Thursday on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends,” Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) slammed his home state’s government for its decision to retain the services of former Attorney General Eric Holder to take on the Trump administration on immigration issues.
“Well, he’s been proven he is willing to lie to Congress,” Issa said. “So, that’s a good start. You know, this is the only attorney general — the only Cabinet officer ever held in contempt for refusing to comply with the law. He’s a bad choice, so apparently it’s more of a political statement — millions of dollars spent on somebody who probably shouldn’t have a law license any longer.”
http://www.breitbart.com/video/2017/...a-law-license/
Judicial Watch Seeks California Employment Records of Holder
Monday, January 9, 2017 12:34 PM
By: Joe Crowe
Judicial Watch has submitted a request to the California Legislature's Joint Rules Committee to seek the employment records of former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
The group announced the action on its website.
On Jan. 4, California Democrats announced their hiring of Holder to assist in defending state policies against any legal battles that might ensue with Donald Trump's administration.
Judicial Watch objected, saying the hiring of Holder wastes tax dollars.
In a statement issued Monday, Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said his watchdog group's "records request is designed to expose how California state legislators are wasting tax dollars to take care of another corrupt politician — Eric Holder — under the guise of resisting the rule of law on immigration and other matters. His record at the [Hillary] Clinton and [President Barack] Obama Justice Departments demonstrates a willingness to bend the law in order to protect his political patrons."
Holder is the first U.S. attorney general to be held in contempt of Congress. He was one of Obama's "longest-serving and most controversial Cabinet members," according to the Judicial Watch report. He served as U.S. attorney general from 2009-2015.
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/eri.../09/id/767527/
