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Eric Holder Senate Confirmation Hearing, Day TwoFriday, January 16, 2009Source
SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D-VT.): Good morning. Glad to see all of youfamiliar faces in this -- in our hearing room. I'm thinking SenatorSpecter and I have spent a significant portion of our lives in this --in this room. I look around and I'm missing one of the -- one of thesenators I sat here with for over 30 years, Senator Biden, who hasnow left the Senate for other duties of sorts.And so I welcome all of you. Yesterday, we met in the SenateCaucus Room from 9:30 to 7:15 so every senator, Republican andDemocratic alike, would ask Eric Holder whatever questions theyhad. It's a historic room for an historic nomination.
Senator John Warner of Virginia, once again, showed the bipartisanship andleadership he's shown for over 30 years in the Senate. He noted the problemsfacing the Department of Justice and the country so great that he was urgingeverybody to put aside partisanship and work together. He presented and endorsedEric Holder to be attorney general, described his outstanding qualifications,integrity and independence.Congresswoman Norton was eloquent in her statement of support for Eric Holder,a former judge for nominated by President Ronald Reagan and then a prosecutor inthe District of Columbia.LEAHY: So we asked -- everybody asked questions they wanted to. The senatorsof both parties have done so. Much of the questioning was substantive. We touchedon many important issues. And the senators were -- technically, the third round wasa five-minute round, but we went 20 and 25 minutes and longer for some of thesenators until everybody said they'd asked all of the questions they wanted.Having heard Mr. Holder's testimony, I'm more convinced than ever he's a personwho will reinvigorate the Department of Justice, serve ably as a member of the president's national security team, pursue the Justice Department's vital missionswith skill, integrity, independence, and a commitment to the rule of law.As I said before, he's a prosecutor's prosecutor. And I'm not going use all my time because I want to get to the -- to the witnesses. But I'll yield to Senator Specter.
 
SPECTER: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The attendance is substantially less thanyesterday. I can't imagine why considering the impressive array of seven witnesseswho are here. But I join the chairman in that I thinking all of you for coming. Andoutside witnesses are we important to give a fuller picture.As I said yesterday, I had hoped to have initially 12 and then down to seven andonly three witnesses have been permitted here. But I don't intend to press that point because I know that there is great disdain in the American public for disagreementsor bickering in Washington, D.C.So the chairman and I have had a very cordial relationship for 28 years -- actually, before that. I met him when he was the district attorney of Burlington. I had asmaller city, Philadelphia.(LAUGHTER)The district attorney. And we had the national convention in Philadelphia and I metthis young fellow. He was not as tall then. He had a lot more hair.(LAUGHTER)And we have worked very closely together and we have had a disagreement aboutthe handling of the scheduling and the handling of witnesses on a number of matters here. And I do want to help President-elect Obama. It's very important.There are enormous problems facing this country, and we all ought to doeverything we can. There is the constitutional that this committee has on adviceand consent. We're at the consent part now.And separation of powers is the rock bed of our republic. And independence isvery important. And I have emphasized that yesterday in questioning of Mr.Holder. So we have an important role to perform here, and we appreciate your coming in.In the interest of time, I'm going to yield back the balance of my two minutes and37 seconds.LEAHY: Thank you.The first witness who was there for a good part of the hearing yesterday is LouisFreeh. Judge Freeh is the former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Iread this from the notes, Judge. I don't think there's anybody in the room that needsto know that, but you are. Your career began in the Department of Justice in 1975when you became a special agent for the FBI.He has a long and distinguished career as a public servant under both Democraticand Republican presidents. He will appointed by President George H.W. Bush as afederal district court judge -- a lifetime appointment in the southern district of NewYork. He had been a career federal prosecutor in the United States Attorney's officefor the southern district of New York serving as chief of the organized crime unit.
 
 Now, he gave up that lifetime position to take appointment as the head of the FBI.And I -- I know -- I should note for the record I've known Louis Freeh and his wifeMarilyn and family for years. And I am thrilled and I feel honored that's now a part-time resident of the state of Vermont.And, Judge, please go ahead. We will start with you and then I'll introduce eachone. And if it's OK with you, I thought we'd just go through and let everybodytestify and then we'll ask some questions.FREEH: All right.(Inaudible) good morning to you. It is a pleasure to be before you. I've been infront of this committee dozens and dozens of times over the years. And I'm very pleased to come here and speak in support of the nomination of Eric Holder.We have presiding over the committee today not just two chairman, Senator Specter being a former chairman of the committee, but two prosecutors, twodistrict attorneys who know firsthand the importance and the challenges of  protecting our laws and our society but also adhering to the rule of law and being politically independent as you make important decisions, decisions which aresubject to review and criticism.So I think the country and the Senate could not have two more knowledgeable andexperienced people to lead the inquiry. And I commend the committee and you,Mr. Chairman and the ranking member, for the fairness and thoroughness of your hearing.You know, I was confirmed twice by this committee. I spent 25 years serving in theUnited States government, mostly the Department of Justice. I left the FBIdirector's job after eight years. One of the things I was proudest of is when I leftWashington, no one in the Senate, no one in the Congress had called for myresignation while I was here. No one said I was politically partisan. No one saidthat I was not independent. And for me and the FBI, that was a great feeling.I also left town without being further investigated which, as you know, is a great benefit to any federal-serving official.When I was a prosecutor, Attorney General Thornburg, at the time, sent me downto Atlanta to work on a bombing case. It was a pretty egregious case. Someone hadkilled a federal judge and also the head of the NAACP in Savannah.That was my first opportunity to meet Griffin Bell. Griffin Bell, in his typicalhumility, called me up. I was in the U.S. attorney's office in Atlanta. And he said,Mr. Freeh, he said, if I can help you in any way, I know a few people in town here.FREEH: When he was attorney general, and you probably have heard this story, hewas in his conference room, the great conference room where both of you havevisited. And he was presiding over a meeting. And his secretary came out. He was
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