After a lengthy investigation, in which Rostenkowski lost his longtime House seat, the former congressman agreed in 1996 to plead guilty to two counts of mail fraud and spend 17 months in prison in connection with an investigation into misappropriation of tax dollars.
Frances Townsend, a former top Bush administration counter-terrorism official, worked closely with Holder in the Clinton administration Justice Department. On Tuesday, he said Holder had been criticized unfairly for what was a minor role in the pardoning of Rich, whose ex-wife's significant contributions to Democratic campaigns raised questions of political influence-peddling.
Townsend praised the selection of Holder, which she said she had confirmed in a conversation with a top transition team official.
"I really think he is a tremendous, tremendous start for the new administration. In a time of war with these difficult legal issues, he is going to have many, many tough issues to face. But they couldn't have picked a person better suited or more qualified to address them."
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josh.meyer@latimes.com
Janet Hook and Rick Pearson of our Washington bureau also contributed to this report.
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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)
Eric H. Holder Jr.
Age: 57
Family: Married to Sharon Malone, an obstetrician; three children. The family lives in Washington, D.C.
Hometown: New York City.
Education: Columbia College, degree in American history, 1973; Columbia Law School, 1976.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
1976: Joins the Attorney General's Honors Program at the Justice Department. Later assigned to the Public Integrity Section.
1988: Nominated by President Reagan as associate judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia; serves five years.
1993: Nominated by President Clinton as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia; serves nearly four years.
1997: Appointed by Clinton as deputy attorney general. Later, he serves as acting attorney general under President Bush pending Senate confirmation of John Ashcroft.
2001: Joins Covington & Burling LLP law firm.
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Source: Covington & Burling biography, other news sources
