By AMY HARDER
President-elect Barack Obama has reportedly "informally" offered the attorney general position to Washington lawyer Eric Holder, who has "informally" accepted. Even though there has been no official announcement as of this posting, the law blogosphere is buzzing.
The Wall Street Journal's law blog reports that names like Scooter Libby and Marc Rich will resurface quickly in light of this news. Holder signed off on President Bill Clinton's pardon of billionaire Rich, who had been represented by Libby for nearly a dozen years, the blog notes.
The Sentencing Law and Policy blog also discusses the pardon aspect of Holder's candidacy. Ohio State University professor Douglas A. Berman writes that while he's not "especially excited to learn that Obama's concept of hope and change for DOJ seems to involve the promotion of a former Clinton Administration high ranking DOJ official," he is going to keep an "open mind."
The Legal Times' blog acknowledges that while Holder does come "with some baggage," it's "probably not enough to jeopardize his nomination."
At the right-leaning Volokh Conspiracy blog, George Washington University professor Orin Kerr calls Holder a "very good pick." Reflecting on his time in the Justice Department, Kerr remembers Holder as being "smart and professional."
Meanwhile, TalkLeft has a series of posts on Holder's criminal justice record.
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