Eric Holder

No one is above the law. But where it is clear that a government agent has acted in responsible and good-faith reliance on Justice Department legal opinions authoritatively permitting his conduct, I would find it difficult to justify…

Eric Holder confirmed as the nation's first African-American attorney general.

I will pledge to do that.

I think that's a generally accepted rule of war, that during the course of a conflict a person who's captured by the other side can be detained for the duration of that--of the conflict.

The President has his power at its maximum, at its zenith, when he acts consistent with congressional direction.

In the ball game that we call our judicial system, the Supreme Court gets to be the umpire.

I'm going to review the decision... to make sure that their decision to decline prosecution was an appropriate one.

I will work to keep the Committee fully informed of the Department's policies and programs.

The President, as I have said, is not above the law, has a constitutional obligation to follow the law and execute the laws that this Congress passes.

I have no intention, this administration has no intention, of doing anything that would affect a State's regulation of firearms.

I think that there has to be fairness in two spots, one, in making a determination that the person is an enemy combatant, is dangerous, and then, two, a review of that decision on some periodic basis.

The inability to--to have people from Islamic countries leave and then cut short that interaction that they might have with our military, is really something that, over the long term, could harm the interests of our Nation.

I thought that the President's determination was a reasonable one, given the fact that there was--that these people had served really extended periods of time in jail.

Our Justice Department will adhere to the values that have made this Nation great.

I understand that. The Supreme Court has spoken.

The attempt to politicize the Department will not be tolerated, should I become Attorney General of the United States.

She never did, throughout her too short life. In a career in public service that began in the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice and ended as an advocate for environmental justice, she showed me the meaning of courage and…

I did factor that in to my determination. You had two U.S. Attorneys who weighed in against it. Law enforcement was against it.

I think starting with what we have in the Army Field Manual, I think that is a good place for us to start.

No one is above the law. The President has the constitutional obligation to faithfully execute the laws of the United States.

Heller is the law of the land. It has to be taken into account with regard to any legislation that might be considered.

There is a false choice, I think, that is often presented, so I would look forward to working with you and the other members of the Committee in trying to make sure that we have good, effective laws that are consistent with our values.

I think we want to leave our options open.

I will be an independent Attorney General. I will be the people's lawyer.

The fact that that initiative exists, that this Committee, that this Congress thought it important enough to devote its attention to it, is an indication of this Committee, our government, at its best.