Attorney General Eric Holder. AP: Gerald Herbert
According to a source within the United States Justice Department, Attorney General Eric Holder is considering a probe into Bush administration torture tactics, which the AG found “troubling.”
Holder has yet to decide if he is going to proceed with any type of investigation.
A recent article in Newsweek magazine went into more detail regarding Holder’s decision, stating that he has gone so far as to identify potential prosecutors for the investigation.
If Holder does decide to proceed, he stands to break with the White House on the issue of investigating the Bush White House.
President Obama has stated in the past that he has no interest in pursuing a probe into the previous administration, choosing to move forward and look toward the future.
Holder may also create a roadblock for the administration on the issue of healthcare and energy. If Republicans feel attacked they are less likely to work with Obama on healthcare.
As he promised during the campaign, Obama wants to work on issues facing Americans in a bi-partisan way. He has not been that successful and if Holder decides to proceed with his investigation it will place further distance between the President and congressional Republicans.
This will not be the first time Holder and Obama have “butted heads.” When the Attorney General gave his speech on race and labeled America a “nation of cowards,” Obama distanced himself from Holder.
Opting to give a rosier outlook on race relations in America , the President stated that he didn’t agree with Holder on his race assessment.
Holder for me he is the President’s backbone on issues that he cannot tackle. America is a nation of cowards on race and we should investigate the Bush administration if they broke the law.
If we are to truly move forward and away from the culture of corruption that dogged the previous administration, then it’s important for the current one to show Americans that breaking the law is intolerable.
No matter your position in government, you will be punished if you deface American law.
It seems as if there is a new allegation or charge against Bush and his cronies revealed every single day. If so, they should be investigated for any type of wrong doing.
The Attorney General is just doing his job as head of the Justice Department.
If Holder decides to push forward with the investigation, I’m hoping that Obama will not cripple his efforts to bring justice that is long overdue.
-JH
For more information on this story, click the links below
Will Eric Holder be the anti-torture hero?
Holder said to consider criminal probe of terror interrogations
Eric Holder mulls charging Republicans
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