Obama's VP Vetter Eric Holder Tied To Marc Rich Pardon Scandal

Obama Vetter Eric Holder Might Want to Prepare For Toss Under the Bus

Obama's VP Vetter Eric H. Holder Jr. as deputy attorney general under Bill Clinton reviewed the pardon of corrupt financier Marc Rich.

Jim Johnson, who was already tossed under the Obama bus, and former Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder, wait for an elevator on Capitol Hill, Monday, June 9, 2008, in Washington, after a meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. (AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

RedState says Holder is "awash in cronyism, skirts ethics laws, had horrible judgement, and is simply incompetent."

The Obama Campaign has another problem that needs vetting.
The Washington Times reported:

Republicans, smelling the success of knocking out the head of Sen. Barack Obama's vice-presidential search committee Wednesday, renewed efforts to ensnare another top adviser to the Democratic presidential candidate with the exploits of his Washington-insider past.

The criticism Thursday centered on Obama adviser Eric H. Holder Jr., who is scrutinizing candidates to be the Democratic presumptive presidential nominee's running mate. As deputy attorney general under President Clinton, Mr. Holder reviewed the last-minute pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich.

Charged with 51 counts of fraud, tax evasion and illegally trading with Iran, Mr. Rich fled to Switzerland in 1983 but won a pardon from Mr. Clinton in 2001. The decision prompted a congressional investigation because Mr. Rich's wife was a major Democratic donor and prosecutors said they were never consulted.

Indicted by then-U.S. Attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mr. Rich failed to return to the U.S. following the indictment and was on the FBI's Most Wanted list for several years. Mr. Holder had given a "neutral, leaning towards favorable" opinion of the pardon that led directly to the pardoning of Mr. Rich on Mr. Clinton's last day in office.

"I think it is a matter of record that Mr. Holder recommended the pardoning of Mr. Rich," Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, told reporters Thursday.

"And all those things will be taken into consideration by the media and the American people, especially when you are entrusting individuals with one of the most important decisions that a presidential candidate can make before that individual is elected and that is who the running mate is," he said.

The Republican outcry over Mr. Holder came a day after Obama adviser Jim Johnson, who was leading the vice-presidential search team, resigned amid questions about his Wall Street dealings, including ties to subprime lender Countrywide Financial Corp.

Eric H. Holder Jr., who reviewed the pardon of financier Marc Rich as deputy attorney general under President Clinton, is scrutinizing running mates for Sen. Barack Obama.

Dick Morris says that Eric Holder was no innocent bystander in the Marc Rich pardon scandal.
He was interviewed about Holder at World Net Daily:

Morris explained the link between Holder and Rich in more detail.

"Rich wanted a pardon, and he retained Jack Quinn, former counsel to the president, to lobby his old boss. It was Holder who had originally recommended Quinn to one of Rich's advisers, although he claims that he did not know the identity of the client," Morris wrote. "And he gave substantive advice to Quinn along the way. According to Quinn's notes that were produced to Congress, Holder told Quinn to take the pardon application 'straight to the White House' because 'the timing is good.'"

"And once the pardon was granted, Holder sent his congratulations to Quinn," Morris wrote.

"If ever there was a person who did not deserve a presidential pardon, it's Marc Rich," Morris wrote.

"In 2002, a congressional committee reported that Holder was a 'willing participant in the plan to keep the Justice Department from knowing about and opposing' the Rich pardon," he said. "It is one thing to reach back to Obama's pastor to raise doubts about his values. But it is quite another to scrutinize the record of his first appointee.

"It couldn’t be a bigger mistake."

This looks like another case where Obama should have vetted his vetters before they were publicly vetted.

Ed Morrissey has more on what the media is reporting on Holder.