Kerry: Holder is ‘not pursuing a political agenda’; he’s ‘doing what he believes the law requires...

[ProSense]

Kerry: Holder is ‘not pursuing a political agenda’; he’s ‘doing what he believes the law requires him to do.’

Today on Fox News Sunday, Vice President Cheney attacked Attorney General Eric Holder for opening a “preliminary investigation into whether some CIA operatives broke the law in their coercive interrogations of suspected terrorists.” Cheney called it an “outrageous political act,” “intensely partisan,” and “politicized.” But on ABC’s This Week, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) pointed out that President Obama has been a bit more reluctant to open an investigation. Holder’s decision to nevertheless move forward is actually a welcome break from the days of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who made all his decisions based on political guidance from the White House:

KERRY: I think there is a little bit of a tension between the White House itself and the lawyers in the Justice Department as they see the law and as what their obligation is. In a sense, that’s good. That’s appropriate, because it shows that we have an attorney general who is not pursuing a political agenda, but who is doing what he believes the law requires him to do. And we have an administration, on the other hand, that is balancing some of those other issues.

Watch it:

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The only reason Cheney thinks the investigation is partisan is because he disagrees with it. Holder is doing what an attorney general is supposed to do — following the law, not political considerations.

[Cha]

1. "..what he believes the law requires him to do"..something

bush+cheney never gave two craps for and had the corporatemediaWhores to back them up.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. Cheney holds a double standard, that's for sure.

He would never had said Gonzales was doing anything political because Gonzales was doing his bidding. I'm glad Holder is investigating, and that Obama appears reluctant to have him do it.

[Triana]

3. Cheney thinks it's partisan because he's guilty. n/t

[Buzz Clik]

4. Of course Holder is doing the right thing.

Just imagine the shit storm if Holder starts going after the big fish.

[MH1]

5. Holder being able to do this independently is why Obama can and should stay above the fray

If it looked like Obama was pushing this then it would look like a partisan agenda. It is better all around if it looks like Obama is reluctant.

[HopeOverFear]

7. Agreed

[goclark]

12. That 's my take on it too nt

[leftofthedial]

6. Besides, he might just nail the CIA equivalent of Lynndie England!

Wouldn't that be "justice"?

[MadMaddie]

8. Folks we totally underestimate the ego and arrogance of

Cheney. Everytime Holder starts down a path of investigation we are seeing Cheney's face more often, he is scared. Cheney's arrogance will be his downfall, he had admitted knowing about the torture.

I think Holder is smart and yes he will go for the Linday Englands but I think he will work his way up to who gave the order.

"A Few Good Men" comes to mind......Interesting how life imitates art...

[TayTay]

9. Ina funnctioning democracy

that would be how it works. The Chief Law Enforcement officer of the land is independent from the Chief Executive and makes decisions based on what he thinks the law requires.

How novel. And to think, Sen. Kerry endorses that. Wow! How radical of him to uphold that principle.

[MasonJar]

10. Holder is doing as miniscule an investigation as he can get away with

so the Obama administration can claim it is doing something.

[TayTay]

11. No special prosecutor yet though

right?

[ProSense]

13. John Durham

NYT report