Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse issued the following statement applauding the Senate’s vote to confirm Eric Holder as the next Attorney General of the United States. Whitehouse, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a former U.S. Attorney and Attorney General for Rhode Island, served in the Clinton Administration with Holder.
“With Eric Holder as Attorney General, Americans can at last have faith again in the Department of Justice as our guardian of civil liberties and the rule of law.
“It is vital that the American people have confidence in that Department, from the Attorney General down to the most junior line attorney. For the past 8 years, the Department of Justice symbolized the dysfunction of the Bush Administration’s tenure. From authorizing torture to screening career employees for ideology, a great deal of harm was done which must now be set right.
“I wish Eric well in his task to restore the Justice Department’s proud tradition of independence and excellence and to repair the terrible damage of the Bush years.”
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