Republicans say they’ll grill Holder on Blagojevich ties
The Senate Judiciary Committee’s GOP staffers say new information indicates the attorney general nominee did legal work for the embattled Illinois governor. Democrats say the connection was minimal.By Josh Meyer
January 15, 2009 Reporting from Washington — As Eric H. Holder Jr. gears up to go before the Senate Judiciary Committee today for his confirmation as attorney general, some Republicans say they will question him aggressively about whether his ties to Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich are more extensive than Holder has acknowledged.
GOP staffers investigating Holder’s background say that although he has downplayed his connections to Blagojevich, new information suggests Holder did legal work for Blagojevich on an investigation into the controversial award of a state casino gambling license by the Illinois Gaming Board.The Republicans said they have obtained a letter Holder wrote to the board requesting records on the casino license. Holder did not bill the state for any work. Even so, the GOP senators want to know the details of that arrangement, and why Holder initially left out any mention of it — and of his relationship to the now-disgraced Illinois governor — in the disclosure form that he was required to file with the committee for his confirmation.
“I have every anticipation that the issue will be talked about at length during the confirmation hearings,” said a staffer working on it with the Senate GOP leadership. “It is certainly an issue that has not been fully aired or answered.”
