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Eric Holder: ‘It’s Hard To Say’ How Much Opposition to Me Has Been Based on Race
Feb. 27, 2015
ALLEN: “Now, there clearly have been times more recently since then when you have felt disrespected on Capitol Hill. How much of that do you think relates to race?”
HOLDER: “It’s hard to say. You know, hard to look into people’s minds, you know, their hearts.”
ALLEN: “But were there times when you thought that was a piece of it?”
HOLDER: “Yeah, there have been times when I thought that’s at least a piece of it. I think that the primary motivator has probably been political in nature. I’ve not been a person who’s been reluctant to express my own views about certain things, and, you know, that’s kind of who I am, it’s the way I was raised, it’s how I’m wound, and I think that probably generated, you know, the greatest part of the criticism, the unfair treatment that — that I think I’ve got.”
ALLEN: “Now, the piece of it that was racial how did that make you feel?
HOLDER: “Yeah, it’s not something that I focused on an awful lot because, you know, the reality is I have a job to do — I had a job to do, and, you know, the criticism is going to come whatever its source. You can’t let it deflect you from, you know, keeping your eyes on the prize. I had to take a Justice Department that was in shambles, you know, when I got here: political hiring, political firing, exclusion of career people from decision making for political reasons. And so, I had to rebuild the department, put in place people who I thought would share my — my view of what this department ought to be.”
ALLEN: “So that’s all the Bush administration that you’re talking about there.”
HOLDER: “Yeah. I mean, you know, I mean these are all documented in the Inspector General reports. It was a low point for the Justice Department, an institution that I love. I’ve been here since 1976, you know, in some form or fashion. And so, we had to rebuild the department and then, on the basis of that rebuilding, you know, advance the things that I felt [were] really important: criminal justice reform; protecting, you know, voting rights; dealing with LGBT issues; protecting the national security while at the same time adhering to our values.”
ALLEN: “Last question about the Hill: Do you think that Attorney General Lynch will get more respectful treatment?”
HOLDER: “Time will tell. You know, if one looks at the trend lines, I’m a little concerned. She had a relatively uneventful hearing, and you would have thought that, you know, on that day she might have gotten maybe a unanimous or close-to-unanimous vote out of the committee, and she got a pretty substantial number of negative votes now, and you’re hearing about things that might happen on the floor. But you know what? Loretta’s the kind of person who is, you know, even-tempered but determined, and whatever the criticism, it’s not going to deflect her. But I do think she has the capacity, if people are willing — if people are willing, she has the capacity to reach across the aisle and actually forge a consensus, especially around an issue like criminal justice reform, you know, that has gotten the right and the left together, the ACLU and the Koch brothers. I mean, you know, there’s the real — there’s a chance there for something really positive to be done.”
ALLEN: “How much of the criticism of President Obama is infected with race?”
HOLDER: “Hard to tell. You know, I certainly don’t think that that’s the primary thing that happens in Washington. I think there are, you know, fringe people around the country.”
ALLEN: “More than fringe.”
HOLDER: “Well, you know, I mean, fringe people around the country who will say, you know, racially based things, but I think, you know –“
ALLEN: “But the non-fringe, the other people who criticize this president or have a beef with this president — like, how often do think race is part of that?”
HOLDER: “You know, it’s — it’s hard to tell. I mean, it’s really hard to tell. I mean, you know, people, when they are going after you, try to come up with what they think is going to be the most effective technique, and so they use a whole variety of things. You know, you weren’t born in this country, you are the other. I mean, you come up with other — you come up with ways in which you try to be effective in your attacks. And certain people have been, you know, less sensitive than they should have been to understand that certain things, given our history — there are certain places that you just shouldn’t — you shouldn’t go.”
Feb. 27, 2015
ALLEN: “Now, there clearly have been times more recently since then when you have felt disrespected on Capitol Hill. How much of that do you think relates to race?”
HOLDER: “It’s hard to say. You know, hard to look into people’s minds, you know, their hearts.”
ALLEN: “But were there times when you thought that was a piece of it?”
HOLDER: “Yeah, there have been times when I thought that’s at least a piece of it. I think that the primary motivator has probably been political in nature. I’ve not been a person who’s been reluctant to express my own views about certain things, and, you know, that’s kind of who I am, it’s the way I was raised, it’s how I’m wound, and I think that probably generated, you know, the greatest part of the criticism, the unfair treatment that — that I think I’ve got.”
ALLEN: “Now, the piece of it that was racial how did that make you feel?
HOLDER: “Yeah, it’s not something that I focused on an awful lot because, you know, the reality is I have a job to do — I had a job to do, and, you know, the criticism is going to come whatever its source. You can’t let it deflect you from, you know, keeping your eyes on the prize. I had to take a Justice Department that was in shambles, you know, when I got here: political hiring, political firing, exclusion of career people from decision making for political reasons. And so, I had to rebuild the department, put in place people who I thought would share my — my view of what this department ought to be.”
ALLEN: “So that’s all the Bush administration that you’re talking about there.”
ALLEN: “Last question about the Hill: Do you think that Attorney General Lynch will get more respectful treatment?”
HOLDER: “Time will tell. You know, if one looks at the trend lines, I’m a little concerned. She had a relatively uneventful hearing, and you would have thought that, you know, on that day she might have gotten maybe a unanimous or close-to-unanimous vote out of the committee, and she got a pretty substantial number of negative votes now, and you’re hearing about things that might happen on the floor. But you know what? Loretta’s the kind of person who is, you know, even-tempered but determined, and whatever the criticism, it’s not going to deflect her. But I do think she has the capacity, if people are willing — if people are willing, she has the capacity to reach across the aisle and actually forge a consensus, especially around an issue like criminal justice reform, you know, that has gotten the right and the left together, the ACLU and the Koch brothers. I mean, you know, there’s the real — there’s a chance there for something really positive to be done.”
ALLEN: “How much of the criticism of President Obama is infected with race?”
HOLDER: “Hard to tell. You know, I certainly don’t think that that’s the primary thing that happens in Washington. I think there are, you know, fringe people around the country.”
ALLEN: “More than fringe.”
HOLDER: “Well, you know, I mean, fringe people around the country who will say, you know, racially based things, but I think, you know –“
ALLEN: “But the non-fringe, the other people who criticize this president or have a beef with this president — like, how often do think race is part of that?”
HOLDER: “You know, it’s — it’s hard to tell. I mean, it’s really hard to tell. I mean, you know, people, when they are going after you, try to come up with what they think is going to be the most effective technique, and so they use a whole variety of things. You know, you weren’t born in this country, you are the other. I mean, you come up with other — you come up with ways in which you try to be effective in your attacks. And certain people have been, you know, less sensitive than they should have been to understand that certain things, given our history — there are certain places that you just shouldn’t — you shouldn’t go.”
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