Mr. Holder regrets

Eric Holder doesn’t need to be as creative as Cole Porter in expressing regrets. He’s got Daniel Klaidman doing public relations for him in the risible Daily Beast article “Holder’s regrets and repairs.” Klaidman gives a source close to Holder anonymity in order to deliver a limp noodle such as this:

As one of Holder’s advisers put it, the message was: “Look we get it. We understand why this is so controversial, and we’re ready to make changes to find the right balance.” At the same time, Holder enlisted their help to get a media-shield law passed in Congress. (On Sunday, Schumer announced the formation of a bipartisan “gang of eight” to press for the legislation.)

But Klaidman doesn’t stop there. He goes to Holder himself the for the deep stuff:

In an interview, Holder acknowledged that there was considerable room for improvement in how Justice handles leak cases, casting the episode as a kind of teaching moment for his department and himself. “While both of these cases were handled within the law and according to Justice Department guidelines,” he told The Daily Beast, “they are reminders of the unique role the news media plays in our democratic system, and signal that both our laws and guidelines need to be updated.” He added, “This is an opportunity for the department to consider how we strike the right balance between the interests of law enforcement and freedom of the press.”

John Ashcroft was not available for comment.

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