Eric Holder's legacy is that he will be remembered as the most "divisive" attorney general the country has ever had, Lt. Col Allen West told 'Fox & Friends."
West said when Holder, the nation's first black attorney general, criticized race relations in the U.S. shortly after his appointment in 2009, it showed nothing would be "enough," despite years of achievements on racial issues in the country.
"I think his legacy is that he's going to be the most divisive attorney general that we've ever seen," West, a former Florida Republican congressman and retired Army Lt. Col., said Friday. "In 2009, he comes out, the first black attorney general, first black president, and he says that we're a nation of cowards. How can you say that when you're standing in that position?"
West said other scandals that have taken place at the Justice Department under his watch, including the Fast and Furious gun running program, IRS targeting of conservative groups, and the investigation into the 2012 bombing of the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, didn't indicate "a positive legacy for Eric Holder."
It was "unconscionable" for civil rights activist Al Sharpton to have a part in the process of naming Holder's replacement, West said. Sharpton indicated on Thursday his organization was "engaged in immediate conversations with the White House" over naming a successor.
"Everyone knows (Sharpton's) history. So, he has no credibility whatsoever. And, for him to be able to make a statement like that, and also be on a news network, that's very concerning," he said.
West said an incident where Holder brought a lawsuit against Louisiana over a school voucher program was in conflict with the attorney general's claims that he was interested in social justice.
"Eric Holder brings a lawsuit against the state of Louisiana for their school choice program. So, if you're talking about social justice and everything, the greatest part of justice is for kids to have the opportunity to get a good quality education," he said.
West said he anticipated Obama to submit a nominee to replace Holder who would "continue on with that progressive, socialist legacy, social justice, using the Department of Justice to elevate whatever."
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