Holder facing questions over pardon

WASHINGTON — New York police detective Anthony S. Senft's life changed forever when a bomb set by Puerto Rican separatists exploded, blowing him 15 feet in the air and blinding him in one eye. Now, he's angry that Eric Holder, who played a key role in awarding clemency to the bombers, is in line to be attorney general.

Holder, as President Bill Clinton's deputy attorney general, worked closely with the Justice Department's pardon attorney to raise the possibility of commuting the prison terms. Three years earlier, that pardon attorney's predecessor had recommended against clemency.

In newly disclosed documents, officials expressed concerns about a department report on possible clemency for the prisoners becoming known publicly.

Holder was expected to face aggressive questioning over the clemency and other issues Thursday from Republicans during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. GOP lawmakers have indicated they expect to approve Holder as Barack Obama's pick to run the job. But the hearing promised to be the most contentious so far among Obama's Cabinet choices.

"Everyone is asking why would a man who helped terrorists get out of jail be nominated for a Cabinet position, especially now that our whole world is infected by terrorism?" said Senft, who retired from the police department weeks ago.

Senft suffered hearing damage and other injuries, including a broken hip, when he hit the ground in the 1982 bombing at a federal building in Manhattan. Armed Forces of National Liberation, or FALN for its Spanish initials, claimed responsibility for that bombing and more than 100 others, which killed six people and injured dozens more.

Another matter confronting Holder is Clinton's pardon, on his last day in office, of fugitive financier Marc Rich. Rich's wife was a major donor to the Democratic Party and to Clinton's library.

Democrats have asked President George Bush's former Homeland Security adviser, Frances Fragos Townsend, and a former FBI director, Louis Freeh, to testify on behalf of Holder.

Senft said he believes Clinton's decision on the commutations for 16 prisoners was intended to help Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign for the Senate in New York, home to more than 1 million Puerto Ricans. At the time, she said she opposed her husband's decision, while adding she understood "the really strong feelings that my friends in the Puerto Rican community have on this issue."