regret on september 11, 2001. the lawful and wise thing to do would have been to keep our secret secret. yet you did not. you have given the critical piece of information to our enemies. in the last three weeks i received word again that on may 29, the washington times has reported that the department of justice voluntarily dismiss the case against three black panther members for voter intimidation outside of a polling place in pennsylvania. in that case, three black panther members wore military- style uniforms, are with night sticks, using racial slurs to scare would-be voters. a longtime civil rights activist called the conduct an outrageous affront to american

democracy and the rights of voters to participate in an election without fear. having worked on the case for months, they had already received a default in 2009. inexplicably, political appointees boveri -- overruled attorneys and dropped the case, dismissing two men entirely, putting in order against the third that prohibits him from a new weapons to future elections, already for a vivid. instead of supporting the attorneys who attempted to protect the civil rights of voters in pennsylvania, political officials in the department of justice white doubt their good work. add your confirmation hearing, the statement about career attorneys enured confirmation

hearing, you said you would respect them and make them proud of the goals we would pursue together. contradicting your statement in a contradiction -- confirmation hearing, you also said that we must defend the civil rights of any americans. and another where raised by this committee -- and another concern raised by this committee, you assured the committee that you have learned from the past and that you would do your best to aggressively continue the war on terror. you listed, as your first priority, that you would "work to strengthen the activities of the federal government and protect the american people from terrorists." instead of taking the lead in protecting the american people, you have enacted the following policies.

we have a recent report that the obama administration is requiring enemy combatants in afghanistan be given more and the warrants. last week, mike rogers revealed that the program had begun to administer ran the rights to any combat will detained in afghanistan. justice marshall blocked the giving of miranda warnings. "do these folks deserve marin the warnings? do they deserve to be treated like a shoplifter? of course not." what has changed in three months. the new approach to battlefield the city's -- battlefield detainees is founded on and

intended to preserve the federal court of criminal prosecution, which is not necessary as we have used military commission for battlefield captives. under the obama administration's global justice initiative, even high level al qaeda operative this can be advised to remain silent and seek counsel before talking. apparently this has already had an adverse effect. the red cross has advised detainees to take the option. "the weekly standard" reported "in at least one instance, a high level detainee has taken the advice and requested a lawyer." likewise, the american people remain in limbo about whether

detainees from guantanamo would be transferred into the united states. the solution you have suggested, i think it is dangerous. that no detainees could be released, the national intelligence director expanded your statement to apply public assistance for them. voters deserve to know the plan. i think that you should have weighed in on the dangerous legislation in the media shield law proposed by your predecessor. he stood silent on the reauthorization of the patriot

act. we need your support. mr. holder, i am disappointed periods i do not think of the american people are happy with the agenda that we are seeing now. these are very serious matters. when attorneys tell you that something is unconstitutional, i am not happy that you ignore that. when you said that we should keep our interrogation confidential, you said no. civil rights are trampled on by members of the black panthers, the offenders were allowed to get away. as the american people look to you to lead in a war against terrorism, you have remained too silent.

you have released danger is detainees -- danger ross detainees -- dangerous detainees. there are some things that you are doing that deserve commendation. bally's three times this year you have invoked the state secrets privilege, which is something that you should do. it is right. i know that you face a lot of criticism from left, but i think that you did the right thing. i am encouraged that you listen to members of congress in the intelligence community to oppose the release of photos. it was an unwise thing, releasing these photos, and it would place america at greater risk.

i am encouraged that you understood that there was no legal authority for releasing them into the united states. you know this apartment well. i respect you and want you to succeed. i want to do what i can to help you. some of these decisions that you later baffling to me. i love the department of justice. i have spent 15 years in it. i hope that you will begin to evaluate these matters more critically. sometimes you have to tell people in the administration know. i look forward to your testimony. you will be

i believe that we can with a other on some important things. >> as you may have gathered, there are somewhat different views by the leaders of this committee. we will let you speak for yourself. please go ahead. your full statement, prior to the record. >> could morning, bringing members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you to highlight this work in the department of justice. i look forward to working with the committee and appreciate your recognition of our important work. we have begun to pursue a very specific set of goals. working to strengthen the activities of the federal government to protect the american people from terrorism,

working to restore the credibility of the department badly shaken by allegations of improper fairness in the marketplace. let me tell you about several of our current initiatives. you can find them in my written statement. the highest priority of the department is to protect the american people against acts of terrorism. working with our federal, state, and local partners, we have worked to deter, detect, and to disrupt terrorist plots. consistent with our national

security, we are leading the work set out by the president to close guantanamo, ensuring the policy's going forward regarding transfer detainee live up. we will continue to work with the legislative branch to ensure that an appropriate disposition of individuals currently detained will be developed and implemented. addressing the southwest border as a threat involves two basic elements. confronting the large crow organizations on both sides of the border federal, state, and

local agencies mexican drug cartels. the department is committed to defending the civil rights of every american. implementing the several laws that our range of disposal. as many americans think, the ems table economy, we are tending to target mortgage loan modification of fraud.

responses from federal law enforcement agencies, investigators, prosecutors, and civil authority to protect homeowners, seeking assistance to protect from criminals looking to perpetrate criminal schemes. this will enhance the department's criminal and civil tools. including money laundering and protecting taxpayer money. with the tools and resources provided, the department and others will be better equipped to help the nation respond to this challenge. the department has been investigating and prosecuting financial crimes aggressively. we have been very successful.

this includes ponzi schemes and market manipulation. as part of the ongoing commitment to fiscal responsibility, we are working with the department of health and human services to bring back the billions of dollars lost every year those dollars could be spent on services are beneficiaries. instead they're wasted on fraud and abuse. kathleen sebelius and i have launched a new effort that will increase a sustained focus. we recognize that health care fraud has its debilitating impact, including those in long- term care facilities.

coordinated activities of our attorneys and agents to address the abuse, neglect, and financial complications, bringing to bear the full weight of our department by making sure that these crimes are prevented and prosecuted. the american recovery and reinvestment act would grant funding, being used for tribal law enforcement efforts, including new police officers to combat violence against women and children. it will help to reinvigorate, which is vital to keeping our communities strong. members of the committee, i want to thank you again for this opportunity to address this

priority. i will be pleased to answer questions might have. thank you. >> thank you. i understand that a career attorney in the department of civil-rights division made the final decision regarding the black panther issue. an employee from the bush and british alicia -- the bush administration. i wanted to point that out. the department has decided to seek injunctions and civil penalties against a person who is charged with intimidating, career decisions being made. the president's nominee, we will

need that to make those kinds of decisions. my friends in the republican party had so far held up the nominee from confirmation. i want to make sure that we have accurate views of what is happening. the last week's tragic shooting at the holocaust memorial museum in washington reminded us of the ongoing serious problems with bias and hatred. the number of hate groups is growing. their positions are hardening. i think it will have to strengthen the hand of law enforcement to respond to these violent threats in crimes. an important issue regarding leadership conference's, they

noted an increase in hate crimes in recent years. linked to the anti-immigrant rhetoric, this great country of ours, we will do everything we can to stop them. we have additional tools for prosecuting a crimes. we owe it to the memory of the murdered museum guard, and so many others. the you agree that this is a good tool for investigators and prosecutors? >> absolutely. if there was ever a doubt of the need for this legislation, it has been done away with by the

events here in washington, d.c., kan., and arkansas. there have been a rise in hate crimes over the last few years much of it directed at latinos. 10 years ago i testified in favor of this bill, which i think is limited in scope and rational in what it wants to do. expanding the scope of the federal hate crime legislation to include gender, ability, sexual orientation, doing away with a jurisdictional requirements and allowing the federal government to assist in prosecuting investigating of these events. the time is right, the time is now for the passage of legislation. >> last year we passed the intelligence act of 2008. there was a lack of adequate protections in it.

today the new york times reported that national security is violating even the very permissive standards imposed by correctional authorities. collecting and reading an immense number of e-mails, to and from the united states citizens brought by an without warrants, caused by the abuses discovered by the fbi in national security letters. how do we justify continuing these expansive authorities? even with these expand authorities, they're being abused. what is the justice department doing looking into these reports of abuse. >> they are insuring that national security is conducted

in a way consistent with authorities designed to protect privacy and civil liberties. there is a framework that really struck a follow. the department of justice and intelligence agency follows strict regulation, whether we do surveillance. there are strict articles and guidelines. >> the problem i have is that more and more we find about -- find out about this not from the intelligence agencies, not from our government, by picking up the newspaper. it is reaching the point where "the new york times" gets us the information quicker and more detailed, plus we get the crossword puzzle. if this continues, i do not know how we will reauthorize any of

these or they will be views that way. >> the requirements that we're supposed to follow, there are a couple of instances where problems were detected by those in the department. we have informed the court members of this committee by what we have found. only after all of those things have occurred did we reauthorize the beginning of the program again. i have not had a chance to review the article. >> i wish that you would. three months ago i asked for the legislative proposals on the patriot act authorities. we really need that answer on both sides. and they're going to wonder what

the department wants. i would hope that you would look at this, i found it troublesome. it was the first time i had seen it in the context and i think we have real problems. we want to use the ability to gather intelligence, but we also want americans, who are not subject to criminal investigation or terrorist investigation to know that they can send e-mails back and forth to their family and friends and business. without being read by somebody who is having fun doing it. we saw it when the irs reports

went way beyond. i hope that you will look into it and redouble your efforts to work with me on the media shield the bill. the to want to respond to any of that? >> some members are frustrated. it is an indication of what we need to look at. how have these measures in use? are there issues or problems with how they have been used before? i know that the time grows

short, but we have based this on the information that we can. >> with regards to these, i do not think there would be much difference between intercepting legitimate parts of your operation. we have wide authority to do that. >> i read in the new york times story this morning. the assumption that it is right is erroneous. >> i would like to hear this

from the attorney general. >> mr. holder, i have been disappointed to have you late in responding to my letter. three letters have gone unanswered by the department. we have serious concern about that. with regards to hate crime legislation, i would suggest that we have a hearing about that. a matter worthy of attention. i would offer for the record, a letter from the commission of civil-rights, six of the eight members have signed it, writing to us, they think that it will

be able to do that. hopefully that will be on the floor. president obama sign procedures to close the 1 ton of detention facility. to determine whether they should be prosecuted, released, or handle in some other way. that view, the attorney general, are the person responsible. do you agree that this guantanamo task force bears responsibility or the release of transfer from guantanamo bay?

>> i think that i bear responsibility, along with others. i think that i have been responsible for it. >> the administration has released a controversial figures already. without any form of military commission or criminal trial. on friday there was a transfer of one detainee to saudi arabia, who is responsible for the death of william jefferson, planting a car bomb in 1997. >> it was approved for release

by the bush administration, the determination was that there had not been sufficient proof. he was transferred, not released, where he was going to be subject to additional review and the re-education program that they have. >> was that based on a question of evidence that could not be utilized? in the stand that military intelligence showed that they were responsible for the death of william jefferson. was there evidence that you felt was inadmissible in terms of making this case? >> the determination that we made was that there was insufficient proof to tie him to those serious and regrettable crimes. it was a question of sadness ability as well