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PrintDecember 14, 2008
Will Holder have to recuse himself from Chicago probe?
AP's Pete Yost reports that legal experts tell him that if Eric Holder is confirmed as attorney general, he may have to recuse himself from overseeing the Illinois courruption probe that has ensnared Governor Blagojevich and struck fear in the hearts of other Illinois pols. This is another good reason why Holder's name should be taken out of the hat for Attorney General
Holder , as you recall, was an Obama advisor during the presidential campaign and there's a possibility that he might know something relevant to the probe and be called as a witness.
We saw in the Libby case how terrible it was to leave Fitzgerald unsupervised. And while a contrary (poorly justified) ruling never was appealed, it seems to me that Libby's argument that a prosecutor under no one's supervision violates the U.S. Constitution was sound. Should Holder recuse himself from supervising the Chicago probe we'll be back to the same situation.
If Holder plays an active role, on the other hand, he may well be violating ethical constraints and the Department's own guidelines on recuals and conflicts.
