Here is a look at the life of former US Attorney General Eric Holder.
Personal:
Birth date: January 21, 1951
Birth place: Bronx, New York
Birth name: Eric Himpton Holder, Jr.
Father: Eric Himpton Holder, realtor
Mother: Miriam (Yearwood) Holder
Marriage: Sharon (Malone) Holder (1990-present)
Children: Maya, Brooke and Eric
Education: Columbia College, B.A., 1973; Columbia Law School, J.D., 1976
Other Facts:
The first African-American US Attorney General.
Member of Barack Obama’s vice presidential selection team.
Is an active member of the national youth mentoring organization Concerned Black Men.
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 – US 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 adviser 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 relations.
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. 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 US 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 – President Obama asserts executive privilege over some of the documents sought by the committee investigating Operation Fast and Furious.
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 US 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.
April 24, 2015 – Holder’s last day in office as attorney general.
July 2015 – Holder re-joins the law firm of Covington and Burling, LLP.
October 17, 2016 – It is announced by Politico that Holder will chair the National Democratic Redistricting Committee. The new group will focus on redistricting reform.
