Former AG Holder Touts Clinton As Reformer

PHILADELPHIA (CN) - Former Attorney General Eric Holder praised Hillary Clinton during an address to the Democratic National Convention Tuesday, calling her a champion of justice and equal rights.

Holder, who served as attorney general under President Barack Obama, acknowledged racial tensions between police and young black men but also touted progress made during the Obama administration to bring down crime and slim the federal prison population.

"As president, Hillary will go even further," Holder said. "She fought, as a senator, against sentencing disparities and racial profiling. She used her first major speech as a candidate to lay out a bold vision for criminal justice reform. As a presidential candidate she has talked about systemic racism in a way that no one else has."

He also called the newly minted Democratic nominee a champion for voting rights who would fight for early voting and for "universal, automatic registration" that would automatically put people on the voter rolls after they turn 18.

"Never forget that we are heirs to the revolution that began just five miles from where we gather this week and that the choice we face in this pivotal election is about much more than politics," Holder said. "It's about the arc we are on, as a nation, the composition of our character, as a people and the ideals - of equality, opportunity and justice - that have always made America great."

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Email *

Submit