Rev. Al Sharpton said todaythat he is in immediate conversations with the White House about crowning a successor to Attorney General Eric Holder, the nations first African-American attorney general.
We are proud that he has beenthe best Attorney General on civil rights in U.S. history and disappointed becausehe leaves at a critical time when we need his continued diligence most, Mr. Sharpton, the president of the National Action Network, said in a statement. We areengaged in immediate conversations with the White House on deliberations overa successor whom we hope will continue in the general direction of AttorneyGeneral Holder.
Mr. Sharpton, who is close to President Barack Obama, heaped praised Mr. Holder, a Democrat who spoke openly about race relations in America. The Justice Department announced this afternoon Mr. Holder will voluntarily resign his post.
His accomplishments in working to protect Americans fromterrorism, fighting to protect voter rights, challenging unfair sentencing, directing U.S. attorneys on fair prosecution, and being the only Attorney Generalto visit the site of a civil rights complaint in Ferguson must be noted in American history, Mr. Sharpton continued.
Having served since the beginning of Mr. Obamas first term, Mr. Holder had made it known he would leave his post by the end of the year. The White House does not intend to name a successor today, according to published reports, and Mr. Holder will stay on until a successor is nominated and confirmed.
Mr. Sharpton has called on Mr. Holder to press charges in the cases of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, two black men who died in police custody this summer. Mr. Holder traveled to Ferguson, Missouri where Mr. Brown was shot and killed and was recently in New York, where Mr. Garner died in July, though he did not comment about Mr. Garners case during his appearance at New York University.
Mr. Sharptons statement was not without criticism: like many other liberals, he faulted Mr. Holder for not closing Guantanamo Bay.
Though we would have liked to have seen other areas more aggressively dealt with, such as closing Guantanamo Bay, his general service has been more than exemplary, Mr. Sharpton said.
Both U.S. Attorneys overseeing New York City, Preet Bharara and Loretta Lynch, have been rumored as possible successors to Mr. Holder.
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Al Sharpton Wants to Help Crown Eric Holders Successor