Holder to Obama: Do Your Own Dirty Work
Today, the United States and the world learned the shocking details behind U.S. Attorney General Eric Holderâs resignation, and the details werenât pretty. According to sources close to the White House, Holder had been frustrated at the continued beating he had taken from Congress, and put much of the blame on President Obama. It has indeed been a tumultuous tenure for Holder. Holder remains the only Attorney General held in contempt of Congress, albeit a Republican lead coalition in 2012, and has been criticized by Republicans for putting politics over justice. Sources tell National Report that Holder never wanted it this way, and that since the beginning, a growing frustration has been mounting over what he called âthe presidentâs political agenda.â A source, who asked not to be named since he was not authorized to discuss internal White House politics, said that six months ago things blew over in a heated discussion in the oval office. âBasically, Holder said he wanted to do his job, serve the United States justice system, but that the president was preventing him from doing so. Holder then asked the president how long heâd need to take the beating for, to which the president replied, âtill we burn the Republicans.'â âAre you kidding me?!,â replied Holder. âThey caught our IRS scheme! They were nearly giddy over Benghazi. I honestly think they were happy about it (Benghazi)! And you want me to go out for another round?!â President Obama encouraged Holder to âhit âem while theyâre down,â believing that any opportunities to push his agenda might be jeopardized come the November elections, in which some political experts foresee the Senate falling to Republicans. Another source from the Justice Department confirmed the tension. âLetâs just say I saw Holder with a âNoBamaâ bumper sticker in his office. He said it was a joke, but I think we all knew how he really felt.â âDrama reigns high with these two,â said Brian Fallon, former aide to Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) . âHolder didnât feel the president had his back. Sure, fast and furious was his idea, and sure, it was horribly criminal. I mean, that guy should be in jail. âBut he tried to make up for it by targeting the Republicans via the IRS. That was the deal he struck with Obama to keep his job after fast and furious. But when he got caught for the whole IRS scheme, he felt the president didnât support him enough, since it was, after all, Obamaâs idea. That was a turning point.â Many in the Democratic Party have tried to defend Holder. They say his civil rights record speaks for itself, and that heâs been polarized by politics in general. âI thought he handled things that werenât his fault pretty well,â said Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). âFerguson was a great opportunity to take the blame off his and the presidentâs mistakes. I think he needed a few more racial tension issues and a few less Benghazis, but what can you doâthe chips fell the way they did.â On the subject, Benghazi was a particularly sore subject for the already strained Attorney General. According to our source, Holder didnât think it was his responsibility, and that the blame should be put on senior military officials, including the president. âAt that point, he realized he was just the punching bag. He figured this administration felt it was just easier that way.â Holder apparently had wanted more freedom to navigate what he called âthe whinny Republicans,â and make concessions at times for the betterment of his office, whereas the president was steadfast that Holder do what was right for his administration and what he believed was right for the nation. â(Holder) told the president someone else would need to be his punching bag, and I think that actually hurt the president,â said our White House source. âEveryone thought he was doing a pretty good job. I mean, think about it. Not too many Attorney Generals in our history have been able to disregard the Constitution, arm Mexicans, targeting the opposing party via a government branch, all the while getting away with it and doing some good. I just think it was too much stress for him.â Holder has agreed to stay on until Congress confirms his replacement, a process expected to be significantly lengthy as the Republicans have shown signs of taking their revenge on the administration. Â