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Republicans greet Holder departure with sharp criticism
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Seizing on news that Attorney General Eric Holder plans to step down, Republican lawmakers piled criticism on him over the Internal Revenue Service scandal, his handling of a gun-running probe known as "Fast and Furious," and a host of other issues.
Holder has clashed for years with Republicans, who see the attorney general and close confidant of President Barack Obama as a partisan warrior who has failed to enforce the law in an even-handed manner.
"By needlessly injecting politics into law enforcement, Attorney General Holder's legacy has eroded more confidence in our legal system than any Attorney General before him," said Representative Darrell Issa, the chairman of a House oversight panel who has often sparred with Holder.
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives held Holder in contempt in June 2012 for withholding documents tied to Operation Fast and Furious, a failed effort to stop gun smuggling across the U.S. border with Mexico.
The first African-American attorney general has also tussled with critics over his handling of allegations that the IRS inappropriately targeted conservative groups, and over his department's secret seizure of journalist telephone records. ...
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