Eric Holder is the 82nd person to hold the job of U.S. Attorney General. He is turning out to be the worst. The attorney general has only one equal: John Mitchell, who was found guilty of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and perjury in 1975. He served 19 months in prison for his crimes.
Holder hangs by a thread to his job despite revelations that the attorney general sought to criminalize the news media's pursuit of information leaked by government sources. The widening scandal threatens to engulf his boss, President Obama, whose ratings have nosedived.
In the latest survey conducted by Quinnipiac University, fewer than half (49%) of Americans believe Obama is "honest and trustworthy." That figure was 58 percent in the last poll on the same question in 2011.
For now, Obama stubbornly supports Holder in the face of growing news media outrage over the attorney general's heavy handedness in spying on journalists. As a result, Obama's bromance with the media has been strained after a four-year honeymoon marked by the absence of journalistic scrutiny.
In an attempt to restore media trust, Holder offered to meet with reporters about the controversy but declared the session "off the record." The New York Times, a staunch Obama advocate, demurred. The Associated Press, an Obama shill, declined to participate. Fox News and others followed suit.
This nose thumbing of an Obama confidant would have been unthinkable a year ago. But even the liberal media organizations are feeling jilted after Holder's witch hunt to suppress news coverage and intimidate journalistic enterprise.
Under Holder, the Justice Department has prosecuted six former or current government officials for leaks. That is twice as many as all previous administrations combined. Holder's unbridled attempt to stalk journalists recalls the Nixon Administration's notorious hunt for those who leaked the Pentagon Papers.
Like Nixon's former AG Mitchell, Holder also struggles with the truth. He is the master of parsing his words to obfuscate. In a recent appearance before a House committee, Holder claimed to be unaware of any "potential prosecution" of the press.
Later, it was learned that Holder personally signed an affidavit accusing Fox News reporter James Rosen of the criminal charge of being a "co-conspirator" in the leaking of sensitive material involving North Korea. The House Judiciary chairman pointed out the "contradiction" in a letter to Holder.
Contradiction is just Washington-speak for perjury. Holder lied. The Justice Department is now arguing that Holder was not referring specifically to the Rosen case. It is a pathetic attempt to defend the indefensible. Even for this administration Holder has stooped to new lows in opacity.
His leader President Obama decided the best way to get to the bottom of this rancid scandal is to ask Eric Holder to investigate Eric Holder. This is classic Obama. The appearance of openness passes for the real transparency Obama promised. His duplicity is beginning to rile Americans.
The president's job approval rating numbers are underwater. The Quinnipiac poll found more people have a negative view of Obama's performance than positive. Just one month ago his approval-to-disapproval percentage was 48-45. Now 49 percent of voters have a negative view of Obama.
The narcissistic Obama can take solace in the fact that Holder's numbers are even stinkier. Only 29 percent of Americans approve of the way the attorney general is handling his job. A New York Times columnist rated Holder a "weak" attorney general.
With calls for Holder's resignation echoing even among Democrats, Obama is faced with a term-defining choice. Should he force Holder to resign or continue to allow his friendship with the attorney general to cloud his judgment?
If Holder clings to his job, the president risks further alienating news organizations and journalists. That could result in more damaging media coverage. However, a worse scenario for Obama would be watching Holder end up like John Mitchell, disgraced and imprisoned.
If that happens, Americans may be treated to the spectacle of an embarrassed president shuffling into the White House press room and declaring, "I am not a crook!"
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