Former Attorney General Eric Holder is returning to his former law firm, Covington & Burling, and told National Law Journal in an interview it is the “last stop” in his career.
He told the Law Journal that he would not be interested in a Supreme Court appointment if asked by Hillary Clinton.
“I’d say, ‘Madame President, with all due respect, you need to pick somebody who’s a) younger and b) who’s a lot more interested,” he said.
When asked whether he would consider returning to politics, Holder insisted that his time at the Justice Department was apolitical. “The Attorney General is not a political person,” he said.
Holder says that his work will require him to work with members of Congress and the financial industry, two groups with whom he often found himself at odds as attorney general. During an investigation into the “Operation Fast and Furious” gun operation debacle, House members voted to hold him in contempt of Congress in 2012.
Holder points to California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa and Texas Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert as “certain members of certain committees that I probably will not be having great relationships with.” He adds sarcastically with laughter, “I was looking forward to working with Louie Gohmert and Darrell Issa, those are the guys I was looking forward to working with.”
The former AG, who just joined Twitter, told the Law Journal he will continue advocating for reforming the criminal justice system and race relations. He confirmed the tweets are all “pure Eric” and not a staffer.
“You know, I was so affected by what happened in Charleston at Mother Emanuel, that I just felt the need to express feelings that I had,” he said. “And so I always said I wasn’t going to go on Twitter, and I wasn’t going to go on Facebook — and I’m not going to go on Facebook — so I did a tweet.”
Holder also says that although the Justice Department was divided about whether or not to defend the Defense of Marriage Act, Obama agreed with Holder’s decision to oppose DOMA.
“There are instances along the way like that that make me understand why I wanted this guy to be president and I supported him early on,” Holder said of Obama.
Holder notes that Covington & Burling’s client base is “worldwide in nature, even more global than it was when I left in 2009,” adding that the firm’s pro-bono work is consistent with his “worldview that lawyers need to be socially active.”
Covington & Burling made headlines when it provided legal representation for 17 Yemeni terrorists at the Guantanamo Bay facilities in Cuba.
