Holder closer to Senate clearance for key position

Washington: Eric Holder appears headed for confirmation as Attorney-General after declaring a new course in US counter-terrorism policy, but a Senate panel still wants to hear more about his decisions as a Clinton administration Justice Department official.

A second day of confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday was to feature former FBI Director Louis Freeh, who supports Holder despite some past disagreements with him during the Clinton years.

Also set to speak on Holder's behalf was Frances Townsend, a former homeland security adviser to President George W. Bush.

That sort of bipartisan support was evident throughout Holder's testimony on Thursday, even as he declared a major break from Bush administration policy toward terror suspects.

He also pledged to restore morale at a Justice Department mired in tales of political interference.

Doing little

Republicans did little to try to block Holder's path to become the first black US attorney-general. There was one angry exchange when the panel's senior Republican, Arlen Specter, said Holder's decision not to investigate Democrat Al Gore's fundraising "raises the question of your fitness for the job."

Holder hit back, saying: "You're getting close to questioning my integrity and that is not fair."

From the very beginning of his testimony on Thursday, Holder outlined how far the new administration will break with past policies under Bush. "Waterboarding is torture," was his blunt response to the first question.

That answer was one that many on the Senate Judiciary Committee had sought after years of frustrating non-answers from Attorney-General Michael Mukasey and his predecessor, Alberto Gonzales.