Holder calls for restoring ex-cons' voting rights
Washington (CNN) - One of Washington's oddities of late is Attorney General Eric Holder's liberal social justice goals finding unity with the tea party movement's curb-big-government proposals led by Sens. Rand Paul and Mike Lee.
On Tuesday, the alliance is on display as Holder, for the first time as attorney general, calls for states to automatically restore voting rights to prisoners who are disenfranchised upon conviction. Paul, who supports voter ID laws Holder has sought to block, has pushed to overturn disenfranchisement laws that he says affect too many black men.
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U.S. expands legal benefits, services for same-sex marriages
(CNN) - In a major milestone for gay rights, the U.S. government on Monday expanded recognition of same-sex marriages in federal legal matters, including bankruptcies, prison visits and survivor benefits.
"It is the (Justice Department's) policy to recognize lawful same-sex marriages as broadly as possible, to ensure equal treatment for all members of society regardless of sexual orientation," Attorney General Eric Holder said in a memo to all employees.
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Holder expands federal recognition of same-sex marriage
Washington (CNN) - Attorney General Eric Holder says he is set to extend the federal government's recognition of same-sex marriages even in the 34 states that don't consider it legal.
CNN has obtained excerpts of a speech Holder will deliver at the Human Rights Campaign's New York City gala event Saturday night.
Holder plans to announce that the Justice Department will issue a memo Monday that recognizes same-sex marriages "to the greatest extent possible under the law."
FULL STORY Holder on Obama's pot comments: Any drug is 'potentially harmful'
(CNN) - The nation's chief law enforcement officer said Wednesday that any drug, including alcohol, "is potentially harmful." Attorney General Eric Holder comments follow an interview where the commander in chief appeared to express a more lenient view of smoking marijuana.
Holder was asked on Capitol Hill if he agreed with the President's sentiments on marijuana use, published in an interview with the New Yorker, where he said the smoking pot was actually less dangerous than alcohol "in terms of its impact on the individual consumer," and that overall, the drug didn't carry the social stigma that it did in the past
Holder seeks Fast and Furious appeal
Washington (CNN) - Attorney General Eric Holder is seeking an appeal to a judge's ruling that allows the House of Representatives to proceed with contempt charges over the notorious Justice Department program Operation Fast and Furious.
Holder is being held in contempt by the House for refusing to turn over documents about the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' gun-tracking program that allowed thousands of weapons to flow to Mexican drug cartels. The Obama administration invoked executive privilege to keep sealed some records over their response to Fast and Furious. The House Government Oversight and Reform Committee, chaired by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-California, subsequently voted to hold Holder in contempt last year.
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Ring of House Republicans to call for impeachment of Holder
Washington (CNN) - A group of 11 House Republicans will introduce a resolution Thursday calling for the impeachment of Eric Holder, saying the Attorney General has lost credibility and trust over a string of issues in recent years.
The articles of impeachment, drafted by Rep. Pete Olson of Texas, faults the Attorney General for refusing to comply with a congressional investigation of the botched gun-walking operation known as "Fast and Furious," led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.
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Holder touts benefits of changes in mandatory minimum sentences
Philadelphia (CNN) - Attorney General Eric Holder visited a federal court program for former criminal offenders to highlight the Justice Department efforts to change mandatory minimum sentences and other rigid federal rules.
Holder sat in court Tuesday as a group of men who have been released from prison in the past few months gave reports on efforts to find jobs, places to live and reunite with their families.
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Once held in contempt, Holder isn't going anywhere soon
Washington (CNN) - Attorney General Eric Holder has been bruised and battered by Republicans who made him the first-ever sitting Cabinet member to be held in contempt of Congress.
He's been knocked around in behind-the-scenes White House battles with some of President Barack Obama's top advisers.
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Obama admin funding cops in schools
Washington (CNN) - Nine months after the Sandy Hook school shooting tragedy, President Barack Obama is putting millions of dollars into funding armed police officers in schools across the country, an idea not too far removed from an National Rifle Association proposal to make sure schools are protected by “good guys with guns.”
Friday afternoon the Justice Department announced about $45 million in funding intended to create 356 new school resource officer positions under the federal COPS grants.
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Obama administration won't block state marijuana laws
(CNN) - The federal government won't try to block state laws in Colorado and Washington that legalized marijuana for recreational use, Attorney General Eric Holder announced Thursday.
While federal law still makes the possession, production and sale of marijuana a crime, Holder's announcement means the Justice Department won't file lawsuits against state laws in Colorado and Washington that allow people to possess marijuana for personal use. Growing and selling marijuana remain illegal in those states.
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