Mediaboss Marketing

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Washington (CNN) -- Attorney General Eric Holder announced Thursday that he will resign after six years at the helm of the Justice Department.

Holder has agreed to remain in his post until the confirmation of his successor.

"In the months ahead I will leave the Department of Justice," Holder said at the White House, thanking President Barack Obama for the "greatest honor of my professional life."

Though he's stepping down, Holder said that "he will never leave the work."

"I will continue to serve and try to find ways to make our nation even more true to its founding ideals," he said, without offering any specifics.

Obama stood next to Holder in the White House State Dining Room, praising the first African-American to serve as attorney general and who made civil rights and equal rights central components to his tenure at Justice.

The President noted that his department prosecuted hundreds of terror cases, "rooted out corruption and fought violent crime," tackled financial fraud and "attacks on the Voting Rights Act." Obama said Holder also helped to bring down the crime rate and incarceration rate by 10% over the last six years.

"Eric has done a superb job," Obama said. "I just want to say thank you."

In a telephone interview with CNN's Evan Perez before the official announcement, Holder said he never intended to stay for the duration of Obama's second term. He said now was the appropriate time to step down -- a time when things are going smoothly at the department.

Read more:
Holder to resign after successor is confirmed

Click photo to enlarge

President Barack Obama, accompanied by Attorney General Eric Holder, speaks in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 25, 2014, to announce Holder is resigning. Holder, who served as the public face of the Obama administration's legal fight against terrorism and weighed in on issues of racial fairness, is resigning after six years on the job. He is the first black US attorney general. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

According to reports September 25, 2014, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder will resign from his post. (Olivier Douliery, Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (AP) Eric Holder, America's first black attorney general and an unflinching champion of civil rights in enforcing the nation's laws, announced his resignation Thursday after leading the Justice Department since the first days of President Barack Obama's term. He is the fourth-longest-serving attorney general in U.S. history.

Holder, the administration's point man on the civil rights investigation into the police shooting of an unarmed 18-year-old in Ferguson, Missouri, won't leave until a replacement is confirmed, which means he could remain in office for months.

President Barack Obama, left, walks with Attorney General Eric Holder, from the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 25, 2014, after announcing that Holder is resigning. Holder, who served as the public face of the Obama administration's legal fight against terrorism and weighed in on issues of racial fairness, is resigning after six years on the job. He is the first black U.S. attorney general. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

Senate Republicans signaled they were preparing for a confirmation fight after years of battles with Holder. Said Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell: "I will be scrutinizing the president's replacement nominee to ensure the Justice Department finally returns to prioritizing law enforcement over partisan concerns."

In an emotional ceremony at the White House, Obama called Holder "the people's lawyer" and credited him with driving down both the nation's crime and incarceration rate the first time they have declined together in more than 40 years.

"Through it all, he's shown a deep and abiding fidelity to one of our most cherished ideals as a people, and that is equal justice under the law," Obama said.

Holder responded by speaking of how he was inspired as a boy by Robert Kennedy's leadership on civil rights at the Justice Department, his voice choking as he expressed his thanks to Obama and his own family. "You got through it," Obama could be heard telling Holder as the audience stood and applauded.

See original here:
Holder resigning: Attorney general brought change

WASHINGTON Eric Holder, who made history as the nations first black attorney general and became an icon among liberals but a divisive figure for many conservatives, announced Thursday that he would resign.

In an emotional ceremony at the White House, President Barack Obama paid tribute to one of the last original members of his Cabinet and a close personal friend, calling Holders departure bittersweet. Holder, at one point fighting back tears, cited a series of actions he said his Justice Department took to empower the powerless. They ranged from fighting for voting rights to reforming criminal sentences for low-level drug offenders.

I have loved the Department of Justice ever since, as a young boy, I watched Robert Kennedy prove during the civil rights movement how the department can and must always be a force for that which is right, Holder said.

He plans to remain in office until his successor is confirmed.

At odds with foes

The nations fourth-longest-serving attorney general, Holder leaves with a complicated legacy. It is one in which the very qualities that have endeared him to liberals such as his pursuit of legal equality for gays and lesbians and his focus on strengthening civil rights protections have often left him at odds with Obamas opponents.

He tried to revitalize the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division and spoke with unusual candor about racial matters, becoming the chief surrogate on race for a black president who felt less comfortable tackling the sensitive issue in public.

The wildly disparate reactions to Holders departure Thursday captured the complex nature of his tenure. Throughout the day, praise for Holder poured in from Democrats, civil rights leaders and others. They called him an influential proponent of civil liberties and sentencing and drug law reforms who also helped protect Americans from terrorist attacks.

His resignation is a great loss for any American seeking justice in our society, said Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., a revered figure of the civil rights movement.

But Holders pending departure immediately reignited the partisan battles over his legacy that marked much of his nearly six-year tenure.

Read more from the original source:
Emotional Holder leaving AG post with mixed legacy

Professor Williamson Chang Repo Attorney General 09-22-2014
Press Conference on Letter of Professor Chang to Attorney General Eric Holder, and others, Statement of Professor Williamson B.C. Chang, Professor of Law, University of Hawaii WilliamS. Richardson...

By: Pono Kealoha

Follow this link:
Professor Williamson Chang Repo Attorney General 09-22-2014 - Video

Eric Holder Hints At U.S. Ground Troops Going Into Syria
http://www.undergroundworldnews.com President Obama has repeatedly said that he will not send U.S. ground troops into Iraq or Syria. Holder also indicated that the U.S. may launch more attacks...

By: Dahboo777

More here:
Eric Holder Hints At U.S. Ground Troops Going Into Syria - Video