Final Word: Eric Holder’s Justice days may be slipping away

Are Attorney General Eric Holder’s days numbered?

Maybe.

The president said Thursday morning at a Rose Garden ceremony that he has complete confidence in his AG. But if this week has been a nightmare for Obama, you have to believe Eric Holder is having a bad dream of his own.

Holder has never been a favorite of Republicans on Capitol Hill, but that is never a huge surprise. Republicans always look sideways at Democratic attorneys general, especially those who are personal friends of the president who appoints them. But after the details on the Fast and Furious gun-running debacle came to light, Holder was an official target of some on both sides of the aisle.

The week of May 13th has not been kind to Holder either. First, the IRS controversy involving special scrutiny given to conservative tea party groups, and then the questions about the phone records being seized from the Associated Press. Holder was grilled about the issues on Capitol HIll on Wednesday and, much like his answer on Fast and Furious, basically said he had removed himself from the AP operation. That works sometimes, but not forever.

Thursday, a CNN report said that the Justice Department failed to oversee two terrorists or suspected terrorists in the witness-protection program, and that these two, with new government-provided IDs and passports, may be out of the country, How much did he know or not know about that?

There are mistakes and there is lack of oversight. This looks like both.