red states rule
01-15-2009, 04:50 PM
So this is the guy Obama wants to be the US AG?
As a lawyer he is trying to get his client off with this defense - "there is no law against funding terrorists and terror groups"
Oh boy, I am feeling so much safer seeing how this administration is taking shape
Eric Holder: The Man from Banana?
With news of Eric Holder's possible nomination as AG, we've been paying attention to his role in the March Rich case. Apparently, there's another issue: Holder's been busy making money at that Washington repository of grassroots people power, Covington & Burling, and has ended up representing Chiquita Brands International on some nasty human rights matters.
Like any lawyer, of course, Holder has to argue positions for his client that he may not agree with. On the other hand, it's not exactly a frivolous issue. You choose your cases. You don't have to represent anyone. You can represent poor people facing eviction, or defend Chiquita on human rights abuses. Chiquita pays better.
A press release from Earth Rights International:
"While Mr. Holder has a distinguished record of public service, in his more recent private practice he has questioned fundamental principles of liability for international human rights abuses and for acts of terrorism.
"Mr. Holder is the lead attorney defending Chiquita Brands International against five lawsuits seeking redress for the banana company's abetting of murder and terrorism in financing Colombia's notorious paramilitary death squads, the United Self-Defense Committee (AUC). Chiquita has admitted funding the AUC for a period of at least seven years, from 1997 until 2004, which helped to enable the AUC to carry out hundreds or thousands of assassinations of banana union leaders, politicians, indigenous peoples' advocates, and other "undesirables" and to generally exercise control over Colombia's banana-growing region.
"Indeed, in March 2007, Chiquita pled guilty to the federal crime of supporting the AUC, a designated foreign terrorist organization. EarthRights International represents the families of these victims in Doe v. Chiquita Brands International, a class action filed in July 2007.
"In defending Chiquita, Mr. Holder has written briefs questioning basic tenets of international human rights and antiterrorism law. In his motion to dismiss one of the lawsuits against Chiquita, Mr. Holder wrote that 'aiding and abetting [violations of human rights law] by a private corporation does not constitute an established violation of international law.' This position runs counter to nearly every court ruling on the subject, and would allow a corporation to escape liability for knowingly assisting others in committing acts such as slavery, genocide, and crimes against humanity.
"In a more recent brief, Mr. Holder argued that there is no 'rule of international law establishing civil liability for providing material support to terrorism,' which would exonerate those who finance terrorist organizations such as the AUC despite knowing that these groups have no legitimate activities and exist only to commit illegal acts of violence.
To his credit, Mr. Holder advised Chiquita to stop financing the AUC while the illegal payments were continuing, and he then helped negotiate its plea bargain with the federal government. Nonetheless, his position that Chiquita should bear no civil liability for the murders that it abetted raises serious questions about the potential future policy of the Justice Department on human rights, antiterrorism, and corporate accountability. EarthRights International hopes that Mr. Holder’s views on these issues will be carefully scrutinized in the coming weeks and months."
http://weblogs.newsday.com/news/loca...rom_banan.html
As a lawyer he is trying to get his client off with this defense - "there is no law against funding terrorists and terror groups"
Oh boy, I am feeling so much safer seeing how this administration is taking shape
Eric Holder: The Man from Banana?
With news of Eric Holder's possible nomination as AG, we've been paying attention to his role in the March Rich case. Apparently, there's another issue: Holder's been busy making money at that Washington repository of grassroots people power, Covington & Burling, and has ended up representing Chiquita Brands International on some nasty human rights matters.
Like any lawyer, of course, Holder has to argue positions for his client that he may not agree with. On the other hand, it's not exactly a frivolous issue. You choose your cases. You don't have to represent anyone. You can represent poor people facing eviction, or defend Chiquita on human rights abuses. Chiquita pays better.
A press release from Earth Rights International:
"While Mr. Holder has a distinguished record of public service, in his more recent private practice he has questioned fundamental principles of liability for international human rights abuses and for acts of terrorism.
"Mr. Holder is the lead attorney defending Chiquita Brands International against five lawsuits seeking redress for the banana company's abetting of murder and terrorism in financing Colombia's notorious paramilitary death squads, the United Self-Defense Committee (AUC). Chiquita has admitted funding the AUC for a period of at least seven years, from 1997 until 2004, which helped to enable the AUC to carry out hundreds or thousands of assassinations of banana union leaders, politicians, indigenous peoples' advocates, and other "undesirables" and to generally exercise control over Colombia's banana-growing region.
"Indeed, in March 2007, Chiquita pled guilty to the federal crime of supporting the AUC, a designated foreign terrorist organization. EarthRights International represents the families of these victims in Doe v. Chiquita Brands International, a class action filed in July 2007.
"In defending Chiquita, Mr. Holder has written briefs questioning basic tenets of international human rights and antiterrorism law. In his motion to dismiss one of the lawsuits against Chiquita, Mr. Holder wrote that 'aiding and abetting [violations of human rights law] by a private corporation does not constitute an established violation of international law.' This position runs counter to nearly every court ruling on the subject, and would allow a corporation to escape liability for knowingly assisting others in committing acts such as slavery, genocide, and crimes against humanity.
"In a more recent brief, Mr. Holder argued that there is no 'rule of international law establishing civil liability for providing material support to terrorism,' which would exonerate those who finance terrorist organizations such as the AUC despite knowing that these groups have no legitimate activities and exist only to commit illegal acts of violence.
To his credit, Mr. Holder advised Chiquita to stop financing the AUC while the illegal payments were continuing, and he then helped negotiate its plea bargain with the federal government. Nonetheless, his position that Chiquita should bear no civil liability for the murders that it abetted raises serious questions about the potential future policy of the Justice Department on human rights, antiterrorism, and corporate accountability. EarthRights International hopes that Mr. Holder’s views on these issues will be carefully scrutinized in the coming weeks and months."
http://weblogs.newsday.com/news/loca...rom_banan.html