Wednesday, May 29, 2013

FOXNews.com: Prominent liberal attorney Turley joins call for Holder to be 'fired'

FOXNews.com
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Prominent liberal attorney Turley joins call for Holder to be 'fired'
May 29th 2013, 13:29

One of the country's most prominent liberal legal scholars called Wednesday for Attorney General Eric Holder to be "fired," joining the growing list of left-leaning pundits slamming his department's pursuit of journalists' phone and email records. 

Jonathan Turley, an attorney and law professor at George Washington University, hammered Holder in a USA Today column Wednesday. He charged that Holder has "supervised a comprehensive erosion of privacy rights, press freedom and due process," aided by Democrats who looked the other way. 

But in the wake of the reporter records scandal, Democrats are starting to join with Republicans in questioning whether Holder continues to be the right man to lead the Department of Justice in President Obama's second term. 

Turley, in his column, referenced a recent call by the Republican National Committee chairman for Holder's resignation. "Unlike the head of the RNC, I am neither a Republican nor conservative, and I believe Holder should be fired," Turley wrote. 

While Democrats largely defended Holder when his department came under fire for the botched anti-gunrunning sting Operation Fast and Furious, they've been less forgiving over the move this year to seize two months of phone records from Associated Press offices. That bombshell was compounded by the revelation that the department seized phone and email records for Fox News offices. The scandal grew as the department acknowledged Friday that Holder was involved in a court document that accused Fox News reporter James Rosen of being a likely criminal "co-conspirator," as part of the department's successful argument for obtaining a search warrant for Rosen's emails. 

According to a report in The Daily Beast, aides say Holder has started to feel regret for the investigations. Under Obama's direction, he is starting a review of DOJ policies and meeting with representatives from the media. 

Turley scoffed at this course of action, since Holder was involved in the surveillance -- at least the surveillance involving Fox News -- in the first place. "Such an inquiry offers no reason to trust its conclusions," Turley wrote. 

He described Holder as a trusted Obama "sin eater," swallowing the worst criticisms to shield the president. 

"Indeed, these sins should be fatal for any attorney general," Turley wrote. 

The column follows a call by the liberal-leaning Huffington Post for Holder to go.

House Republicans have also over the past couple of years introduced multiple anti-Holder resolutions, including one now that expresses no confidence in the attorney general. 

Arizona Republican Rep. Paul Gosar, sponsor of the most recent resolution, says he has dozens of co-sponsors and that Holder is failing to uphold his constitutional obligations. 

On the other side of the aisle, liberal pundit Bill Press has joined in the call to remove Holder, tweeting recently that he should be fired. 

Joe Trippi, a Democratic strategist and Fox News contributor, said what makes the recent criticism different from the Republican-led grilling over Fast and Furious, which was linked to the fatal shooting of a U.S. Border Patrol agent, is the bipartisan outcry. 

"You're starting to see Democrats join Republicans to call for (Holder's) resignation," Trippi said. "Whenever you see both sides doing that, it means there's real trouble. It doesn't mean he's in trouble of having to be forced out or resigned yet. It means it's a lot more serious than other events he's had to take on." 

Holder responded to reports Tuesday that he regrets the subpoenas aimed at journalists, saying, "I'm not satisfied." 

He also indicated he's going to have meetings and discussions with members of the media, possibly as soon as this week.

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