Eric Holder resigns

George Terwilliger and Phillip Atiba Goff on the Attorney General’s resignation and comments on police and race

This is a RUSH transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," September 25, 2014. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

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O'REILLY: "Personal Story" segment tonight, almost four months ago I answered a viewer letter about Eric Holder.

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O'REILLY: John Giordano from Sacramento, California. "Bill, you like to blow your horn that you predicted Shinseki would go. Didn't you also predict that Eric Holder would resign?"

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O'REILLY: I did, John, standing by that. Well today President Obama announced the Attorney General is indeed resigning.

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OBAMA: So I just want to say thank you, Eric. Thank you to the men and the women of the Justice Department who work day in and out for the American people.

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O'REILLY: Interesting because earlier this week the Attorney General made a startling statement.

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ERIC HOLDER, FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL: As an African-American man who has been stopped and searched by police in situations where such action was not warranted. I also carry with me an understanding of the mistrust that some citizens harbor to those who wear the badge.

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O'REILLY: Joining us now to assess the situation Dr. Phillip Atiba Goff from the UCLA Center for Policing Equity; and from Washington, George Terwilliger former deputy Attorney General under President Bush the Elder.

First of all, Mr. Terwilliger, how do you react to Mr. Holder's statement about police and race?

GEORGE TERWILLIGER, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL UNDER PRESIDENT H.W. BUSH: Well you know as I'm sure the Attorney General knows and really believes the men and women of our police department are the front line on everything from domestic violence to counter terrorism. And the vast majority of them conduct themselves day in and day out with great respect and dignity for the people they serve.

I think it's a little bit unfortunate that his remarks and particularly perhaps taken out of the context in which intended them seem to tip the balance the other way.

O'REILLY: All right Dr. Goff the Attorney General had to know he was resigning this week when he said those remarks so they were -- they were calculated remarks. And isn't it a bit subversive for the attorney general to basically send a message to people who really don't like the police that your attitude is ok?

PHILLIP ATIBA GOFF, PRESIDENT UCLA CENTER FOR POLICING EQUITY: I don't think that's what he was doing at all. I think that he was echoing what we've seen black police chiefs and black officers say which is that as wonderful as law enforcement is in general that there is a history that has earned them mistrust within certain communities. And we've got to be honest about that if we're going to make sure that that history stays in the past.

O'REILLY: All right. But what good does it do for the Attorney General to state that when pretty much everybody knows there are bad police officers and racist police officers, and racial profiling in the past has been used? People know that. What good does it do to continue to reinforce that? I don't understand -- I don't know what good it does.

GOFF: So I don't know that he was reinforcing that so much as he was being honest. The reason we are talking about it right now is because we haven't been used to Attorney Generals being honest about the past in this kind of way.

O'REILLY: So you saw it as a positive?

GOFF: I saw it as a positive and by the way a lot of the police chiefs I work with also saw it as a positive.

O'REILLY: All right. Now, Mr. Terwilliger, Attorney General very controversial because he was a very close friend to the President -- personal friend; that was clear today in the press conference. And many anti-Obama folks believe that the Attorney General of the United States did not investigate things like Fast and Furious, Benghazi, IRS as aggressively as he might. It's almost like the John Mischler-Richard Nixon thing on the Republican side. Do you believe that sir?

TERWILLIGER: I don't necessarily believe it as to all of those things. I do think on the IRS issue, a special prosecutor being appointed both for both political and substantive reasons might have brought that matter to a close and a credible close a lot faster. All attorneys general have been subject of allegations of sitting on things. I think Eric has had more than his share and you know, history will have to judge whether he really went at things with the alacrity that we expect.

O'REILLY: All right. But I don't know if history is going to be able to judge him if nothing ever comes of it. I was suspicious of Attorney General Holder. I met him one time -- very charming guy, he really was. I had a nice conversation with him when the Mark Rich pardon came down on the last day of Bill Clinton's administration and it was orchestrated by Eric Holder. And Mark Rich, the biggest cheat in American history was offered a pardon. And it was never explained.

Mr. Holder wouldn't answer questions about it. Mr. Clinton wouldn't answer questions about it. And I said to myself, you know what? There is something dirty here. Did you have any thoughts about that?

GOFF: You know what? I wouldn't say that I had really strong thoughts about it one way or the other. When you have a President who has the ability to pardon people, it's frequently the case, especially towards those last days.

O'REILLY: The biggest tax cheat in American history, the biggest guy who flees the country and serves no time and you give him a pardon and you don't explain it?

GOFF: I would have preferred to have had an explanation.

O'REILLY: Thank you, Doctor.

GOFF: I would have preferred to have an explanation.

O'REILLY: Now that tells me Mr. Terwilliger, and you have been very generous to the Attorney General tonight that he is a political man. That's what it tells me.

TERWILLIGER: I think is he a political man. Most AG's are political people. The question is on substantive parties like the Rich pardon what does somebody leading the Justice Department put first the politics or the law. And I think --

O'REILLY: And I think we know in that case what happened. And he was rewarded for protecting Bill Clinton by getting the Attorney Generalship under President Obama.

I'm telling you guys, I don't have a personal animus towards him but there is something not right there.

We appreciate the spirited debate, guys. We appreciate it.

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