{"id":2437,"date":"2012-02-29T14:21:34","date_gmt":"2012-02-29T19:21:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/faithandjustice\/?p=2437"},"modified":"2012-02-29T14:21:46","modified_gmt":"2012-02-29T19:21:46","slug":"jay-sekulow-attorney-general-holder-wrong-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2012\/02\/jay-sekulow-attorney-general-holder-wrong-again.html","title":{"rendered":"Jay Sekulow: Attorney General Holder – Wrong Again"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>There’s another troubling development out of the Justice Department – a problematic move by the U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.<\/p>\n

Holder now says the Justice Department will defend the deeply flawed mandate put forth by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) – the mandate that forces employers to provide abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization and contraception, even if it goes against their conscience.<\/p>\n

In testimony before a Congressional subcommittee, this statement from Holder<\/a>: “I think I would respectfully disagree in the sense that I don\u2019t think the rule that HHS promulgated was one that ran counter to the religious prohibitions that are contained in the First Amendment.”<\/p>\n

It’s difficult to imagine the nation’s top law enforcement officer – who is charged with upholding the U.S. Constitution – can reach such a skewed conclusion.<\/p>\n

The fact is the HHS mandate, which continues to generate opposition from a broad spectrum of Americans including many Catholics<\/a>, does exactly what the Attorney General refuses to acknowledge – it strikes at the very heart of the First Amendment. It violates the free exercise of religion and the conscience rights of millions of Americans.<\/p>\n

It’s an issue we have been speaking out on for some time, an issue I addressed this week in an opinion editorial that appeared in many papers across the country<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We recently sent a legal analysis<\/a>\u00a0to HHS Secretary Sebelius on behalf of nearly 70,000 Americans urging that the troubling language in the regulations be removed.<\/p>\n

While the Attorney General shuts his eyes to the constitutional violations present in the HHS mandate, he continues to refuse to accept full responsibility for a botched gun-running operation<\/a>, in which a U.S. border patrol agent was murdered.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>As you recall, Operation Fast & Furious sent thousands of weapons to Mexican drug cartels via straw purchasers – people who legally purchased guns in the United States with the known intention of illegally trafficking them somewhere else. At least 300 people in Mexico were killed with Fast & Furious weapons, including Border Patrol agent Brian Terry.<\/p>\n

In testimony Tuesday before a House appropriations subcommittee<\/a>,\u00a0Holder once again maintained that once this troubling program was brought to his attention, he stopped it immediately. The problem is that doesn’t quite square with the facts.<\/p>\n

House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa has said he and others in Congress don’t think Holder is telling the full truth.<\/p>\n

In an interview with FOX News, Issa said: “Well, certainly one of the reasons we doubt the legitimacy of that claim is, on Feb. 4 [2011], we received what was in fact an untruthful, a lie, a false letter that has now been retracted,” Issa said. “Lanny Breuer, one of his chief aides and number three at Justice, was in Mexico lobbying for more gun-walking. Additional evidence shows that [U.S. agent] Jaime Zapata was killed with a similar program weapon. In other words, this was a policy change that happened and continued up until fairly recently. We need to get to the bottom of it.”<\/p>\n

In addition, Issa said that if Holder wants to show he\u2019s cooperating with the congressional investigation and is interested in really ending gun-walking, he’d turn over the rest of the lawfully-subpoenaed documents he\u2019s still hiding from Congress. “The inspector general at Justice has 80,000 pages and we have 6,000 pages, but even in those 6,000 pages we find damning evidence that high-ranking people in Justice knew all along and not only didn\u2019t stop this program, but believed in it.” Issa said.<\/p>\n

Fast & Furious and now the HHS mandate – just two recent examples of an Attorney General who continues to generate more questions and concerns with his actions and policies. And that’s a problem.<\/p>\n

Jay Sekulow<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There’s another troubling development out of the Justice Department – a problematic move by the U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. Holder now says the Justice Department will defend the deeply flawed mandate put forth by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) – the mandate that forces employers to provide abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":401,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[467,302],"tags":[750,494,474,396,507,505,7],"class_list":["post-2437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-attorney-general-eric-holder","category-u-s-department-of-justice","tag-abortion","tag-attorney-general-holder","tag-gun-running","tag-hhs","tag-mexico-drug-cartels","tag-operation-fast-furious","tag-religious-liberty"],"yoast_head":"\nJay Sekulow: Attorney General Holder - Wrong Again - Faith & Justice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2012\/02\/jay-sekulow-attorney-general-holder-wrong-again.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jay Sekulow: Attorney General Holder - Wrong Again - Faith & Justice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There’s another troubling development out of the Justice Department – a problematic move by the U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. 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He is also Chief Counsel of the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ). Jay Sekulow is one of the leading defenders of constitutional rights and religious liberties in the United States. Over the past 25 years, Jay Sekulow has amassed an unparalleled record of accomplishment, arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court on 12 occasions. His aggressive litigation strategy before the Supreme Court has led to many landmark First Amendment victories. In his first case before the Supreme Court, Jews for Jesus, Jay Sekulow secured the right of religious groups to pass out tracks in airports. In Mergens, Jay Sekulow successfully protected the right of students to form Bible clubs and prayer groups on public school campuses. In Lamb\u2019s Chapel, Jay Sekulow cleared the way for churches to have equal access to public facilities in the same way that other groups are permitted to utilize those facilities. In the Bray and Operation Rescue cases, Jay Sekulow protected the free speech rights of pro-life advocates to be free from criminal prosecution for conveying their pro-life message. In McConnell v. FEC, Jay Sekulow protected the right of young people to engage in the political process by donating to the campaign of their choice. In Pleasant Grove, Jay Sekulow paved the way for governments to be able to display Ten Commandments monuments, and other monuments of their choosing, in public parks. Through the ACLJ, Jay Sekulow engages the political, legal, and cultural battles facing America today. He routinely works with Members of Congress, advising them on proposed legislation and representing them in critical legal matters. Jay Sekulow has also testified before Congress on the constitutionality of proposed legislation. Also, in addition to being a successful Supreme Court advocate, Jay Sekulow is a highly respected broadcaster. Jay Sekulow is the host of Jay Sekulow Live! which airs each weekday on over 850 radio stations nationwide, in addition Sirius and XM satellite radio. He brings insight and education to listeners daily through this national call-in radio program. He is also the host of the ACLJ This Week, the ACLJ\u2019s weekly television program. Jay Sekulow regularly appears on major media outlets, including FOX News, CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC, where he is sought out for his vast experience in constitutional law and his unique insight into many of the pressing legal and political issues facing America today. He is frequently quoted in the nation's leading newspapers and often contributes opinion editorials to national publications. Jay Sekulow has also published numerous law review and other scholarly articles. Jay Sekulow has received numerous honors for his groundbreaking legal work in the area of free speech and religious liberties. The Legal Times has named Sekulow one of \u201cThe 90 Greatest Washington Lawyers of the Last 30 Years\u201d and the National Law Journal has twice named Sekulow one of the \u201c100 Most Influential Lawyers\u201d in the United States. In addition, TIME Magazine listed Jay Sekulow as one of the \"25 Most Influential Evangelicals\" in America. Jay Sekulow\u2019s legal work in defense of religious liberties and human rights extends beyond the United States, having founded the ECLJ in Strasbourg, France, which maintains consultative status with the United Nations. He has also opened offices in Pakistan, Africa, and Jerusalem, Israel. Jay Sekulow is a staunch defender of Israel, presenting arguments before the International Criminal Court at the Hague. His efforts in support of Israel\u2019s right to defend itself from terrorist attacks have been commended by Israeli government officials, one official stating, \"Jay was instrumentally-involved in projects that the President of Israel and the Prime Minister put on our national agenda.\" Jay Sekulow also has a passion for educating the next generation of religious liberty advocates. He is a member of the Regent University Law School Faculty as a Distinguished Professor of Law and routinely teaches courses on constitutional law and presents guest lectures. Jay Sekulow has also started educational programs in international human rights law in Strasbourg, France and at Handong University in South Korea. Jay Sekulow is a graduate of Mercer University, earning both a bachelor\u2019s degree and doctor of jurisprudence. Sekulow served on the editorial staff of the Mercer Law Review and graduated cum laude. He later earned a Ph.D. from Regent University, writing his dissertation on American Legal History. Jay Sekulow also serves on the Board of Trustees for The Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, D.C. Jay Sekulow, ACLJ Chief Counsels full biography and video. Jay Sekulow on Facebook. Jay Sekulow on Twitter. Jay Sekulow on YouTube.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/author\/jay_sekulow"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2437"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2437\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2445,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2437\/revisions\/2445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}