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Former Attorney General Eric Holder said President Trump is trying to send a message to people involved in the Russia investigation through his recent pardon for conservative filmmaker Dinesh DSouza, suggesting democracy is under attack during a speech Friday in New Hampshire.

After the president issued a pardon Thursday, pundits speculated about whether the president was sending a message to Special Counsel Robert Mueller since Mr. DSouza pleaded guilty to charges of an illegal campaign contribution an allegation lobbed at Mr. Trumps personal attorney Michael Cohen for hush money paid in 2016 to porn star Stormy Daniels, who allegedly had an affair with the president.

The president is also considering pardoning domestic doyenne Martha Stewart, who was convicted in 2004 of lying to the FBI, similar to his former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, and former Illinois Governor Rob Blagojevich, who is serving time for corruption.

If you use all the typical metrics we use in the Justice Department very few of these people would be considered good candidates for pardons, Mr. Holder said.

But, he added, It wont ultimately thwart the Mueller investigation.

Mr. Holder himself is not immune from criticism surrounding pardons. He has admitted to not going through the proper pardon procedure when he served as deputy attorney general under President Bill Clinton with regard to businessman Marc Rich, who was convicted of income tax evasion, among dozens of other charges, in 1983.

Richs wife had donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to then-Senate candidate Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Library, sparking accusations the pardon was bought.

Mr. Holder, who said he would make a decision next year about whether hell run for president in 2020, spoke during a political event at St. Anselm College, where he predicted a blue wave in Novembers midterm elections.

But the former attorney general warned partisan gerrymandering by Republicans could lead to unfair election results.

He said the will of the American people has been thwarted by partisan gerrymandering efforts, which have pushed Republican lawmakers further and further to the right.

The potential 2020 presidential candidate told the New Hampshire voters he and President Obama are attempting to challenge districting maps in areas where they think unconstitutional partisan gerrymandering has taken place.

Politicians are picking their voters, Mr. Holder said. If we have these reform measures in place where you have nonpartisan commissions who will draw the lines in 2021, I think thats the best thing.

He specifically criticized President Trumps Attorney General Jeff Sessions for pushing to ask whether someone is a citizen on the U.S. Census, suggesting its another way to suppress the immigrant community.

There is really no need to have that on there, Mr. Holder said. This is an effort to suppress the vote.

He said Americas democracy is under attack, and so is the notion of one person, one vote.

We can look at the way in which the rule of law is under attack in regards to the Russia investigation, he said.

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Eric Holder: Trump's pardons will not 'thwart the Mueller ...

Speculation about a potential presidential run for former Attorney General Eric Holder has heated up after he announced he would speak at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics annual Politics & Eggs, an event that many former candidates once attended.

A press release from Holders officer announced Wednesday that on June 1, the Obama administration official would be the featured guest speaker at the annual breakfast event.

According to the press release, the Politics & Eggs series is a forum for presidential candidates, political leaders, and other political analysts and commentators as they visit New Hampshire, home of the nation's first presidential primaries.

A number of former presidential hopefuls attended the event in the past, including President Donald Trump, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio,The Hill reported.

The same day that news broke of his trip to New Hampshire, Al Sharpton also alluded to a presidential bid for Holder while introducing him at the National Action Networks Annual National Convention in New York.

YOU RUN THE DAMN JUSTICE DEPARTMENT: HOLDER SAYS SESSIONS MUST HAVE THE GUTS TO SAY NO TO TRUMP

Some folks are talking about a guy called Eric who might run for president, he said. Im just saying what Im hearing. I wouldnt put him on the spot with a run Eric, run. I wouldnt do that.

Earlier this week, Holder himself seemed to hint at the likelihood of a run during an interview with MSNBCS All in With Chris Hayes.

When asked if he was considering it, Holder replied Im thinking about it but Ive not made any determinations.

Fox News Peter Doocey contributed to this report.

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Eric Holder hints at 2020 presidential run with important ...

Former attorney general Eric Holder is now in charge of a Democratic organization dedicated to overturning Republican gerrymanders, but that doesn't mean he wants to replacethem with districts drawn to favor Democrats, he said Tuesday.

Instead, hetold The Daily Show host Trevor Noah, he wants to put the parties on an even playing field by drawing fairer, more competitive maps.And as Holder's National Democratic Redistricting Committee sees it, that requires electing Democrats to statewide office first.

I wouldn't have signed up for this if it was an attempt to gerrymander for Democrats, Holder said, adding that he believed Democrats didn't need gerrymandering because they are right on the issues and have the support of the people.

[This is the best explanation of gerrymandering you will ever see]

Holder's committee saysthat electing Democrats is one part of its four-part strategy to end gerrymandering, which also includes challenging gerrymanders in court, engaging voters in the redistricting process and enacting state-level reforms to ensure fairer congressional maps.

It's that last part changing laws about redistricting that independent experts say is key to mitigating gerrymandering. In most states, redistricting is handled like any other piece of legislation, with partisan lawmakers drawing maps that are subject to a governor's veto.

This creates an incentive for political parties todraw maps that disadvantage their opponents, especially in states where a single party has control over both the legislature and the governor's mansion.

That's exactly what happened in 2011: Republicans drew maps in a number of states that gave themselves an overwhelming partisan advantage relative to Democrats.In 2012, for instance,RepublicanHouse candidates in Wisconsin wonless than 50 percent of the statewide popular House vote, butended up with five of the state'seight House seats. In North Carolina, Republican House candidates earned less than 49 percent of the popular vote, but 13 of the state's 18 House seats.

Democrats controlled fewer states in 2011, leaving them with fewer opportunities to gerrymander. But certain states, such asMaryland, and to a lesser extent Illinois, stand out as examples of Democratic gerrymanders.

A number of states, such as California, Arizona and New Jersey, have opted to put the redistricting process in the hands of an independent commission.Researchers have found that districts drawn by independentpanels tend to be more competitive and show less partisan skew thanthose drawn by politicians. Voters have also grown increasingly distrustful of politician-drawn districts.

For the time being, however, Holder's group is focused primarily on putting Democrats in officerather than on changing existing laws. In part, that's because Republican-controlled state legislatures have balked at redistricting reform efforts.

In Pennsylvania, for instance, Republicans have refused to give a bipartisan redistricting reform bill a hearing.A number of reform proposals before the Republican-led North Carolina legislaturearestalled in committee. In Arizona, meanwhile, Republicans are spearheading an attempt to change the rules governing the state's independent redistricting commission.

Would Democrats do a better job of promoting fair and competitive congressional elections, as Holder's group maintains?

That remains to be seen, but the case of Maryland, one of the few extreme Democratic gerrymanders, provides some reason for skepticism. There, Democratic lawmakers have repeatedly refused to take up redistricting reforms proposed by the state's Republican governor.

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Former Obama administration attorney general Eric Holder speculated this week on what would incentivize him to run for president.

Holder was asked in an interview with the New York Times about running for the highest office in the land. The reporter asked, If you were gonna do it, why would you do it. If you didnt do it, why would you not do it?

Holder saidIf I were gonna do it, Id do it because I would have concluded that maybe I could unify the country help unify the country. Holder said he could also advance and repair the country as president.Holder said, I had something to contribute, that would be the thing that would push me toward considering a run.

Holder said that the strain on his family would be the reason he would not run for president. The former attorney general noted that his family would regularly be bothered by the news stories and hearings that surrounded his contentious helm at the AG position.

To subject myselfand my family to that again could be a negative, Holder said.

Holder has speculated on a 2020 run in the past few months in various interviews.

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Eric Holder For President: 'Unify Countr | The Daily Caller

Former Attorney General Eric HolderEric Himpton HolderPavlich: The claim Trump let the mentally ill get guns is a lie Pennsylvania Supreme Court releases new congressional map 36 people who could challenge Trump in 2020 MORE and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R)on Fridaycalled for an investigation into the activities of Russian trolls they say inflamed tensions in Milwaukeeafter a police shooting.

Several Twitter accounts known to be linked to the St. Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency, including one impersonating the Tennessee Republican Party, posted tweets claiming Black Lives Matter activists were celebrating the murder of a member of the National Guard after riots began in August 2016,The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

However,theNational Guard had not been deployed following the death ofSylville Smith, anAfrican-American man who was shot to death by a police officer after he had thrown his gun away and was lying down unarmed.

Holder called for an investigation into the "impact" of the false social media posts by the Russian accounts.

"I think its incumbent upon people both at the state level and the federal level to hold hearings, to find exactly who was behind that and what was the impact of that effort," he said, according to the Journal Sentinel.

A spokeswoman for Walker's office told thenewspaper that foreign intrusion in Milwaukee's communities was "outrageous" and called for a full investigation by federal authorities.

"We believe it is outrageous that any foreign interests would try to cause disruption in our communities and hope the federal government will spend time looking into this interference," said Amy Hasenberg.

In February, special counsel Robert MuellerRobert Swan MuellerSasse: US should applaud choice of Mueller to lead Russia probe MORE indicted 13 Russian nationals connectedto the Internet Research Agency for stealing the identities of U.S. citizens and creating false social media profiles to spread false information among voters in swing states.

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