Eric Holder Shuts Out Fox News As Attorney General Appears On Every Other Sunday Show But Fox

Attorney General Eric Holder taped interviews from Paris for every Sunday show, but did not tape an interview for Fox News Sunday.

Fox News has been THE source for race based attacks against the Attorney General. Fox News has spent years demonizing Holder. In just the last few months, Fox News has claimed that Holder is anti-police, Fox News edited Holder’s remarks about Ferguson in an attempt to heighten racial tensions, and claimed that Holder ran the DOJ,”like it is the Black Panther Party.”

Attorney General Holder has been a vocal critic of the sort of subtle racism that Fox News deals in every day. While delivering the 2014 commencement speech at Morgan State University, Holder said, “These outbursts of bigotry, while deplorable, are not the true markers of the struggle that still must be waged, or the work that still needs to be done — because the greatest threats do not announce themselves in screaming headlines. They are more subtle. They cut deeper. And their terrible impact endures long after the headlines have faded and obvious, ignorant expressions of hatred have been marginalized.”

Eric Holder was referring to Cliven Bundy and Donald Sterling, but his remarks apply especially to the tactics that Fox News has used all through the Obama years. The right will use Holder’s freezing out of Fox News to claim that the Obama administration is afraid of Fox. The reality of the situation is likely closer to the truth that Attorney General Holder and the president both understand that the media needs access to high profile political figures. By denying Fox News Sunday an interview, Holder was making it clear that he was not going to give Fox News what they need most.

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Fox News Sunday did get an interview with Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey, but their competitors could all promote an appearance by the Attorney General, who is in Paris for a counterterrorism meeting.

The Obama administration appears to have finally figured out how to handle Fox News. The White House isn’t going to pander to Fox News, or try to play nice with them. Attorney General Holder was not going to help Fox News divide the country by spreading their racially divisive propaganda. There is no big drama associated with their behavior, but it is clear that this administration is done playing games with Fox News.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association