MichiganRadio

Holder: U.S. Faces "New Threats," But Cooperation Is Key DETROIT, MI (Michigan Radio) - U.S Attorney General Eric Holder told lawyers in Detroit that the country faces "new legal challenges" and "threats to our safety."

Holder spoke at the Federal Bar Association's annual advancement of social justice luncheon. He also attended a swearing in ceremony for Barbara McQuade, the new U.S. Attorney for Michigan's Eastern District.

Holder compares working at today's U.S. Department of Justice to "being in the eye of the hurricane."

"We face new legal challenges, new missions, and new threats to our nation's safety," Holder says. "In the face of these challenges, we have, I believe, an opportunity--an obligation--to choose collaboration and civic engagement over cynicism and over criticism."

Holder didn't mention the recent criticism aimed at the Department of Justice, about his decisions to try suspected terrorists including attempted Christmas Day bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in U.S. civil courts.
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