More Holder
The Los Angeles Times has the last of its series on things Republicans are saying about Attorney General-designate Eric Holder, whose confirmation hearing kicks off this morning.
“„GOP staffers investigating Holder’s background say that although he has downplayed his connections to [Illinois' Democratic Gov. Rod] Blagojevich, new information suggests Holder did legal work for Blagojevich on an investigation into the controversial award of a state casino gambling license by the Illinois Gaming Board.
We’ve been hearing about this since late December, and about a week ago Republicans on the committee obtained a letter from Holder to Blagojevich that was passed on to the conservative Powerline blog and partially disseminated.
“„The letter begins by stating, “As you know, Governor Blagojevich has appointed me to investigate issues relating to gaming in the Village of Rosemont, Illinois.” After informing the Gaming Board Chairman that “the first stage of the investigation will focus on reviewing documents,” Holder proceeds to request the production of ten categories of documents. [...]
“„This request for the production of documents relating to the circumstances possibly surrounding the issuance of the gaming license would seem to constitute “substantive work” on the Gaming Board investigation.
What’s the scandal? Blagojevich was arrested Dec. 9. On Dec. 14, two weeks after being nominated, Holder submitted answers to the Senate’s questionnaire that didn’t mention his halting and unfinished work for the state of Illinois. The smoking gun is a letter showing that, well, his work was halting and unfinished.
More evidence that for all the hype, it looks like we’re heading to a Holder confirmation.
