Obama eyeing ex-NEPA man for attorney general

WASHINGTON — Eric Holder, formerly second in charge at the Justice Department, is President-elect Barack Obama’s top choice to become attorney general, an Obama official and people close to the matter said Tuesday.

Holder’s selection would mark Obama’s first step toward filling his Cabinet, and he would become the nation’s first black attorney general if confirmed by the Senate.

Holder also has ties to Northeastern Pennsylvania. He spent the early years of his career in Scranton prosecuting public corruption cases.

Immediately after getting his law degree from Columbia University in 1976, he joined the Public Integrity section of the Justice Department and spent the next 12 years investigating and helping prosecute state officials, judges and FBI agents, according to The Times Leader archives. Among those officials was former Kingston administrator Raymond Lowery, who was acquitted of federal charges of extortion and perjury in December 1978. During that case, Holder served as co-counsel with U.S. Attorney Stephen Schroder.

In 1983, Holder prosecuted James “Dave” Osticco. The Pittston man was found guilty in connection with a 1977 jury-tampering scheme in Scranton involving Dunmore businessman Louis DeNaples. Osticco had attempted to fix a trial in which DeNaples and several others were accused of defrauding the federal government related to the cleanup from the 1972 Agnes Flood. DeNaples entered a no-contest plea to a charge of conspiracy to defraud the government and was given a suspended sentence and fined.

Obama would be putting a career prosecutor at the helm of a department beset by low morale and internal investigations. He has called on the Justice Department to be immune from political influence from Congress and the White House.

“Internally, there is a morale problem the likes of which I have never seen before,” Holder said in an interview late last year. “Externally, there is a crisis of confidence that the nation has with regard to the department.”

A member of Obama’s foreign policy working group, Holder also would be called on to help close the Guantanamo Bay military prison, as Obama has promised to do, and prosecute terrorism suspects.

An Obama official and two Democrats in touch with the transition team confirmed that Holder is Obama’s top choice but the Obama official said the decision has not been finalized.

Holder did not return messages seeking comment Tuesday. Asked Monday by The Associated Press whether he expected to be nominated, he responded in an e-mail: “Who knows?”

In the past week, Obama aides have asked Senate Republicans whether they would support Holder. In particular, the aides questioned whether Holder’s confirmation would be delayed because of his involvement in the 2001 pardon of fugitive Marc Rich by President Bill Clinton at the end of his presidency.

One person involved in the talks said the Obama team has received some assurances that, while the Rich pardon would certainly come up during hearings, the nomination likely wouldn’t be held up. All spoke on condition of anonymity to describe private conversations.

Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the pardon “would be a factor to consider.”

“I wouldn’t want to articulate it among the top items but it’s worthwhile to look at,” he told reporters.