Congressman says Holder made DOJ into his own ‘criminal defense firm’

June 16, 2013
by Joe Saunders Leave a Comment

Attorney General Eric Holder has not only lost credibility with Republicans, he’s turned the Justice Department into a personal “criminal defense firm,” a Texas congressman said.

“Eric Holder’s credibility has been shot,” Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, told Fox News on Saturday.

Gohmert, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, was especially critical of the attorney general for his explanations of his role in the Justice Department’s investigation of journalists covering national security issues by monitoring their phone records or keeping tabs on their movements.

Holder has agreed to meet privately with the House Judiciary Committee to discuss testimony he gave the panel last month, but Gohmert says that’s not enough.

“How are you going to feel when you know we’re meeting behind doors to talk about how he may be invading your rights and getting your e-mail and checking your phone calls?” he said during an interview with Fox News’s Uma Pemmaraju. “It’s not enough.”

On May 15, Holder testified that the Justice Department hasn’t tried to prosecute a journalist during his tenure.

However, a warrant sought by Justice Investigators and approved by Holder named Fox News reporter James Rosen as a “co-conspirator” for obtaining classified information from a State Department source.

“He made the DOJ into a criminal defense firm and now they will help him prepare answers that they keep vague,” Gohmert said.

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