RNC Hits Obama on Other VP Vetter

After criticizing Barack Obama almost immediately after he named former Fannie Mae CEO James Johnson to his VP search team, the Republican National Committee (RNC) today hit Obama on one of his other VP team selections: former Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder.

Holder, the RNC says, was instrumental in President Bill Clinton’s pardon of Marc Rich, who was under charges of tax and wire fraud.

The RNC today, in a press release, circulated criticisms made by former Clinton adviser Dick Morris in a New York Post op-ed last week. The RNC called Holder’s selection a “disgrace.”

Obama selected Holder, Johnson, and former first daughter Caroline Kennedy to head his VP search efforts last week. The RNC has charged that Johnson received special loans from Countrywide.

From the RNC’s release:

Eric Holder Was Involved In Sweetheart Deal Which Granted Fugitive Marc Rich A Controversial Pardon From Outgoing President Bill Clinton:

“As Deputy Attorney General, Holder Was The Key Person Who Made The Pardon Of Marc Rich Possible In The Final Hours Of The Clinton Presidency.” (Dick Morris and Eileen McGann, Op-Ed, “Obama’s VP Search Mistake,” New York Post, 6/5/08)

Rich Was Under Charges Of Wire Fraud, Tax Fraud, And Illegal Trading With Iran. “[M]arc Rich, the fugitive billionaire who renounced his U.S. citizenship and moved to Switzerland to avoid prosecution for racketeering, wire fraud, 51 counts of tax fraud, evading $48 million in taxes, and engaging in illegal trades with Iran in violation of the U.S. embargo following the 1979-80 hostage crisis.” (Dick Morris and Eileen McGann, Op-Ed, “Obama’s VP Search Mistake,” New York Post, 6/5/08)