Latest O'Reilly whopper: Holder is “worst” AG in history

Written by Mike Burns

Published

On The O'Reilly Factor, Bill O'Reilly attacked Eric Holder as the worst attorney general in history, claiming that he has taken the mantle" from Janet Reno. This is just the latest in a litany of attacks O'Reilly has leveled at Reno and Holder.

O'Reilly has repeatedly attacked Reno and Holder with falsehoods and distortions. For instance, O'Reilly falsely claimed that “Eric Holder and Janet Reno put the wall between the FBI and the CIA,” which led to the 9-11 attacks. Further, he falsely claimed that “Holder was second in command to Janet Reno” at the time the “wall” was created. He made similar false claims about Holder and Reno previously.

And just last week, O'Reilly criticized Holder for not pursuing criminal charges against members of the New Black Panther Party. Referencing the decision not to press criminal charges, O'Reilly said that Holder “did it” because “his ideology comes into every decision.” But as Media Matters has repeatedly pointed out, it was Bush's DOJ that decided to file a civil, not criminal, complaint.

Even if O'Reilly's attacks on Holder were true -- which they clearly are not -- they would be far outstripped by Nixon Attorney General and Watergate criminal John Mitchell. As The Washington Post notes of Mitchell:

Nixon's former law partner served as attorney general before resigning in 1972 to head the Committee for the Re-election of the President. He stood trial in 1974 and was convicted on charges of conspiracy, perjury and obstruction of justice. He served 19 months in a minimum-security prison in Alabama before being released on parole for medical reasons.

In September 1972, stories by The Washington Post linked Mitchell to a secret campaign fund that paid for the Watergate burglary. When Post reporter Carl Bemstein called for a comment, Mitchell directed his response at the Post's publisher:“Katie Graham's gonna get her tit caught in a big fat wringer if that's ever published.” According to later testimony, Mitchell approved $250,000 for the break-in.

But once again, it's easier for O'Reilly to launch an unsubstantiated attack than deal with the facts.