NAACP Calls Contempt Charge Against Attorney General Eric Holder “A Divisive Political Maneuver”
June 28, 2012(Washington, DC) – The NAACP today released the following statement regarding the vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress:
“Today’s contempt vote was a divisive political maneuver that does nothing to advance justice,” stated NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous. “Attorney General Holder has been candid about the botched Fast and Furious program and has handed over more than 7000 documents related to the operation started under his predecessor. It is reprehensible that this sitting Attorney General and distinguished legal advocate is being attacked by some in Congress for political gain.”
“Many of the same politicians behind these charges also tried to add riders to the Department of Justice’s appropriations bill that would restrict resources necessary to fight racial profiling and enforce voting rights and labor rights,” stated Jealous. “This vote only serves as a distraction to the Justice Department’s work of defending civil rights for all Americans.”
“As someone who was originally nominated to the Superior Court by President Reagan, served as Deputy Attorney General under Janet Reno, and then as Acting Attorney General during President Bush’s transition period, Eric Holder is one of the most qualified attorneys general in our nation’s history,” stated Hilary Shelton, NAACP Senior Vice President for Advocacy and Policy and NAACP Washington Bureau Director. “This contempt vote is an outrage.”
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Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.
