82nd Attorney General, 2009-2015
Eric Holder was sworn in as the 82nd Attorney General of the United States on February 3, 2009 by Vice-President Joe Biden. President Barack Obama announced his intention to nominate Mr. Holder on December 1, 2008.
In 1997, Mr. Holder was named by President Clinton to be the Deputy Attorney General, the first African-American named to that post. Prior to that he served as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. In 1988, Mr. Holder was nominated by President Reagan to become an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
Mr. Holder, a native of New York City, attended public schools there, graduating from Stuyvesant High School where he earned a Regents Scholarship. He attended Columbia College, majored in American History, and graduated in 1973. He graduated from Columbia Law School in 1976.
While in law school, he clerked at the N.A.A.C.P. Legal Defense Fund and the Department of Justice's Criminal Division. Upon graduating, he moved to Washington and joined the Department of Justice as part of the Attorney General's Honors Program. He was assigned to the newly formed Public Integrity Section in 1976 and was tasked to investigate and prosecute official corruption on the local, state and federal levels.
Prior to becoming Attorney General, Mr. Holder was a litigation partner at Covington & Burling LLP in Washington.
Mr. Holder lives in Washington with his wife, Dr. Sharon Malone, a physician, and their three children.
Eric Holder's Posts.
Timeline:
1976-1988 - Works for the Department of Justice's Public Integrity Section.
1988-1993 - Associate judge for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
1993-1997 - U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.
1997-2001 - Deputy Attorney General of the United States. He is the first African-American to hold this position.
2001-2008 - Litigation partner with Covington & Burling LLP.
2007-2008 - Senior legal advisor for Barack Obama's presidential campaign.
December 1, 2008 - President-elect Barack Obama nominates Holder to be Attorney General of the United States.
February 2, 2009 - Is confirmed by the Senate, 75 - 21.
February 3, 2009 - Is sworn as Attorney General of the United States by Vice President Joe Biden.
February 18, 2009 - In his first major speech since being confirmed, Holder makes a controversial remark calling the United States a "nation of cowards" for not discussing race.
October 4, 2011 - The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee calls for an investigation into whether Holder was honest when testifying earlier in the year about his knowledge of Operation Fast and Furious. Fast facts about Operation Fast Facts. The controversial operation, run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, was supposed to track weapons purchases by Mexican drug cartels. However, more than 1,000 weapons were lost track of and two lost weapons turned up at the scene of the 2010 murder of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.
October 12, 2011 - The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee issues a subpoena for communications from Holder and other Justice Department officials relating to Operation Fast and Furious.
December 2, 2011 - About 1,400 pages of internal documents on Operation Fast and Furious are released by the Justice Department.
June 20, 2012 - Just as the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform was about to vote Eric H. Holder Jr. in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a subpoena for documents in the flawed Fast and Furious gun-tracking case, President Obama asserted executive privilege over some of the documents sought by the committee investigating Operation Fast and Furious, and backed up the attorney general’s position in refusing to turn over the material. Essentially, this gave Holder cover from releasing the material to the committee.
June 20, 2012 - The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee recommends that Holder be cited for contempt of Congress for failing to turn over all of the documents relating to the Fast and Furious operation.
June 28, 2012 - The House of Representatives votes 255-67 to hold Holder in contempt. This is the first time in U.S. history that the head of the Justice Department has been held in contempt of Congress.
June 29, 2012 - The White House announces that Holder will not face criminal prosecution under the contempt of Congress citation. President Obama's assertion of executive privilege in the case prevents a criminal prosecution.
August 13, 2012 - The House Oversight Committee files a civil contempt lawsuit against Holder, seeking the release of Operation Fast and Furious documents.
February 27, 2014 - Holder is hospitalized after experiencing faintness and shortness of breath.
September 25, 2014 - Holder announces his resignation. He will stay in his post until the confirmation of his successor.
Holder was investigated over Operation Fast and Furious. From 2009 - 2011, under Operation Fast and Furious, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Phoenix Field Division, along with other partners, allowed illegal gun sales, believed to be destined for Mexican drug cartels,in order to track the sellers and purchasers.
In Fast and Furious, the so-called gun-walking operation, roughly 2,000 guns were allowed into Mexico with the goal of tracking them to Mexican drug cartels. Two guns found at the scene of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry's fatal shooting in December 2010 were linked to the operation.
Whistle-blowing leads to a Congressional investigation by the Senate Judiciary Committee and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and Attorney General Eric Holder is cited for contempt. In June 2012, the House voted to hold Holder in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over documents linked to that operation.
What led to Fast and Furious rebuke of Holder?
Here are some of the Justice Department’s top accomplishments under the leadership of Attorney General Holder.
Terrorism and National Security | Violent Crime | Financial Fraud | Protecting Vulnerable Populations | Transparency | Protecting the Environment
He was succeeded by Loretta Lynch on April 27, 2015.
Biography
July 20, 2016: Airbnb hires Eric Holder to help company fight discrimination.
