Eric Holder’s Role In The Elian Gonzalez Case Might Be Called Into Question In Obama Cabinet Hearings

Eight Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey and the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum asking for document prepared by formey deputy attorney general Eric Holder and his staff at the time of controversies such as “the April 22, 2000, raid in Miami, Florida, by Border Patrol agents to take Elián Gonzalez into custody.”

Eric Holder — Barack Obama’s top pick for Attorney General — will likely be asked about his role in the Elian Gonzalez case during next month’s confirmation hearings. Holder was deputy attorney general during the controversial raid of Elian’s uncle’s home, when Border Patrol took the Cuban boy from his relatives at gunpoint. He was also Obama’s presidential campaign advisor — a role which prompted protests by a small group of Cuban exiles during Obama’s speech to the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Miami back in June.

Barack Obama, for his part, did not take a public position at the time of the Elian Gonzalez controversy, although he did describe it as a “wrenching situation” and declared he was prepared to create a policy that would allow Cubans on the idlans to life in a climate of prosperity and political freedom.

Elián González could come up in Obama Cabinet hearings [Miami Herald]