Barack Obama,  Eric Holder,  Rod Blagojevich

Surprise: Attorney General Nominee Eric Holder Omits Hot Rod Blagojevich Connection From U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Questionnaire

December 17, 2008 /
Eric Holder and Rod Blagojevich
Eric Holder (right) appears at a March 24, 2004, news conference with Gov. Blagojevich.

No, not really a surprise. Eric Holder failed to mention his past associations with the politically corruption charged Governor of Illinois Hot Rod Blagojevich on a 47 page Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire.

And, about what?

Chicago area casino gambling and organized crime.

Before Eric Holder was President-elect Barack Obama’s choice to be attorney general, he was Gov. Blagojevich’s pick to sort out a mess involving Illinois’ long-dormant casino license.

Blagojevich and Holder appeared together at a March 24, 2004, news conference to announce Holder’s role as “special investigator to the Illinois Gaming Board” — a post that was to pay Holder and his Washington, D.C. law firm up to $300,000.

Holder, however, omitted that event from his 47-page response to a Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire made public this week — an oversight he plans to correct after a Chicago Sun-Times inquiry, Obama’s transition team indicated late Tuesday.

“Eric Holder has given hundreds of press interviews,” Obama transition spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said in a statement. “He did his best to report them all to the committee, but as he noted in the questionnaire itself, some were undoubtedly missed in the effort to reconstruct a list of them.”

Holder signed the questionnaire on Sunday — five days after Blagojevich’s arrest for allegedly putting Obama’s U.S. Senate seat up for sale. The Judiciary Committee asked him to provide lists and “copies of transcripts or tape recordings of all speeches or talks delivered by you” and “all interviews you have given to newspapers, magazines or other publications.”

The “OOPS” excuse is NOT going to wash this time. The GOP Senate Judiciary Committee had better prepare some pointed questions of Eric Holder who has already been tainted by the Bill Clinton pardon of Marc Rich.

Exit questions: Can’t Obama find someone untainted by political scandal for Attorney General? Or, is this the person President Obama wants to cover his own ass once he takes office?

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