California hires Eric Holder to spearhead “lawfare” battles against Trump
State’s politicos spend $25,000/month to hire man at center of Fast & Furious and voter intimidation controversies.
California has a massive housing crisis, pension troubles, and an escalating crime rates. So, what do the state’s leaders decide to do?
Hire one of the most controversial figures in the Obama Administration to engage in legal battles against the Trump Administration.
Bracing for an adversarial relationship with President-elect Donald Trump , the California Legislature has selected former U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. to serve as outside counsel to advise the state’s legal strategy against the incoming administration.
The unusual arrangement will give Holder, leading a team of attorneys from the firm Covington & Burling, a broad portfolio covering potential conflicts between California and the federal government. Former Los Angeles Rep. Howard Berman, a Democrat who is now a senior advisor to the firm, will also be part of the effort.
Exactly how many California tax dollars are going to be diverted for this legal war effort?
[Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Paramount] and [Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles] agreed to pay Holder’s firm $25,000 a month, plus expenses such as travel and printing, for three months beginning Feb. 1. After that, the parties will renegotiate the deal, said Kevin Liao, a spokesman for Rendon.
Not all Californians are happy with this arrangement. One representative reminded her colleagues that the state already has plenty of lawyers.
Sen. Patricia Bates, R-Laguna Niguel, called Holder’s hiring “a waste,” noting that the state Department of Justice has a staff of 4,300 people and an annual budget of $830 million.
California citizens, who will now be footing this bill, also are less than thrilled at the prospect of paying for Holder’s services.
The nation prepares for an economic boom, except CA legislature which is planning to skip it. https://t.co/RqUW17Zega #TimeForNewLeadership
— Tim S Clark (@TimSClark) January 4, 2017
California to pay Eric Holder $25,000 a month to disagree with Trump. Theres a reason CA is in more debt than all other states put together
— Joe Ges (@jcges) January 4, 2017
Though I will say this: It is good to see progressives embrace states’ rights with the enthusiasm once reserved for….Tea Party participants.
California is so badass, tf. I love my state. ⚡️ “California hires Eric Holder to challenge Trump administration”https://t.co/3kEtmLjjJx
— Monique ???? (@edgeoflonely) January 4, 2017
As a reminder of Holder’s qualifications, let’s take a look back at his legacy:
- Holder resigns in 2014, after numerous controversies, gross ineptitude, and arrogant political maneuvering at the Department of Justice.
- Attorney General Eric Holder advised state AGs that they may disregard their oaths of office.
- Holder Lied and People Died: Attorney General Eric Holder may have about when he became aware of Operation Fast & Furious.
- Holder in 1995: We have to “brainwash” people against guns
- Eric Holder’s Justice Department ignoring inquiries about why it dropped a voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party.
The best explanation I have for the California legislators’ decision to hire Holder: The state recently voted to make pot legal.
Sometimes, I truly despair of the state of my state.
Those of you who wish to may now head over to the #CalExit GoFundeMe page. At this point, I can hardly blame you.
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Comments
Eric Holder vs Jeff Sessions? ROFLMAO, Holder is gonna get creamed. But at least it will be fun to watch.
This is more significant as an illustration of legal bribery than the firing of efficient counsel. If California wanted the latter, they would have chosen a highly effective but very low profile lawyer from a firm that included solid Republican partners. K-Street is loaded with these kinds of guys.
This is both a stunt and an excuse to funnel $25 K per month to Holder. Think of it as an investment—in the most unlikely event that Dems have a good 2018 midterm or that Trump loses in 2020, Holder pays off
Those of you who wish to may now head over to the #CalExit GoFundeMe page.
It’s 1860 all over again.
Can’t wait for Holder to start arguing States Rights and Nullification.
Perhaps he will find the long lost, much lamented Tenth Amendment.
He already knows about it; it’s what “sanctuary cities” rest on.
California is to Constitutional law as a banana republic is to honesty. President-for-Life Moonbeam knows his country, once amongst the richest in the world, will not run out of money. Watch for new printing presses coming on-line to print new money to pay for yet another anti-American windmill tilting farce.
The California legislature has made a soft landing for a Democratic hack, despite his public defense that he is incompetent.
California voters should take offense. The California budget should not be a slush fund for the Democratic Party at the national level.
Time to prosecute Holder for Fast and Furious cover up. CA will have to get a new spearhead.
We have CalExit but maybe we should start a major movement for the blue parts of California to disassociate from the state.
Maybe call it JeffExit?
I love how lawyers, in this day and age, still feel like they have to charge for printing.
Time to invest in ‘popcorn futures’
Oddly enough, Holder will be working for the California Legislature, not the Governor.
25k/month for 3 months? They did not hire Holder, they hired a paralegal from Holder’s firm for an astronomical bill rate.
So … California doesn’t have a plan. It’s going to recycle old failures and bad ideas.
Good.
I think this is actually good for the conservative cause. For the past eight years we’ve had progressive clowns in DC and we saw conservative states (eg. Texas) fight them in court. These battles highlighted the stark differences in ideology for the public which helped drive the massive ass-whippings in the congress and at the state level.
Now that conservatism has a toe-hold again in DC, Holder’s clown-car machinations will keep the spotlight shining bright on the difference between progressivism and conservatism. So I say to the Dims “Go For It!” Elect Keith Ellison as DNC Chair! Turn Schumer loose with Reid-style obstructionism! Let Moonbeam launch his own satellites! And by all means, let Eric “Affirmative Action” Holder be-clown himself some more! FORWARD! You’re on the right track!
Actually, I love it. When he can’t just degree what he wants, Holder cannot win. He is neither bright enough nor experienced enough to win any legal fight. Poor guy, if he actually does lead California into the abyss, people will wonder why he was ever appointed AG. But, we know.
He’s there for name recognition and sound bites, a bone thrown to the CA Dem base. They don’t expect him to win any damn thing.
Holder, the demagogue, belongs on the end of a rope, along with most of the democrap leadership.
You listening, Barry?
I wonder how many favors were owed to Holder by CA legislators? This is a great move for him. Now if Trump’s DOJ makes noised about prosecuting him over Fast & Furious, Holder’s friends can make a stink about it being “political” because of his position with the State of California. (Trump and Sessions are just as likely to ignore the flak, but that won’t stop it from being raised.)
Can’t wait for Trump to make public what Obama considered “privileged” communication during Congress’ investigation into F&F. What one president considered “privileged”, any subsequent president can release. It’s a judgment call, and one president’s judgment is legally just as good as another’s.
‘The intelligent needn’t apply’ said the job application.
Assemblyman Kevin Kiley has asked the California Attorney General’s office to investigate whether legislative Democrats ran afoul of the law by retaining Mr. Holder and his law firm, Covington Burling, for $25,000 per month to do a job that can be performed by state employees.
Mr. Holder was hired last week by the California legislature, which is controlled by Democrats, as outside counsel to provide advice on “our efforts to resist any attempts to roll back the progress California has made” on issues such as climate change to immigration.
But Mr. Kiley cited a court ruling that said the state Constitution forbids hiring outside consultants for roles that can be carried out “adequately and competently’ by those in the civil service, including work “defending California against federal actions.”
“In light of these facts, I respectfully ask your legal opinion as to whether the 1,592 attorneys and legal staff at the State Attorney General’s Office can perform ‘adequately and competently’ the legal services for which Covington Burling has been retained by the Legislature,” said the Republican Kiley in his letter.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jan/12/holder-hire-violates-calif-constitution-lawmaker/