Given his intellegence and reputation for competence, it is very diificult to believe Eric Holder’s contention that he thought Marc Rich was just another tax crook and that he had no idea that he was also an arms dealer. Also, his contention that Bill Clinton’s pardons of FALN terrorists were “reasonable”  because they served time, hadn’t harmed anybody (tell that to Joseph Connor), and the pardons were supported by an impressive list of luminaries, is disturbing. The pattern here seems to be one of deference to authority, and it’s questionable whether Holder would be willing to stand up to Obama if necessary. During the Bush administration, Democrats made a fuss about the lack of independence of the AG’s office, but they seem to abandoning that now tha the administration is Democratic.