Eric Holder at border and airport, as well as in intelligence operations. During his confirmation hearings, Holder agreed with Senator Patrick Leahy (Democrat, Vermont) that a technique used by U.S. interrogators under the George W. Bush administration known as waterboarding is torture. Consequently, Senate Republicans delayed the confirmation vote on Holder though Senate Democrats accused them of applying a double standard. He has been critical of "enhanced interrogation techniques" and the NSA warrantless surveillance program, accusing the Bush administration of a "disrespect for the rule of law... [that is] not only wrong, it is destructive in our struggle against terrorism." Holder has
Eric Holder Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security also called on Holder to resign. Among those opposing the contempt citation, Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings, the ranking member on the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform said, "Holder has acted honorably; he's done everything he could to allow us to do our job, which is to investigate this matter." President Obama and the Justice Department declined to prosecute the attorney general on the contempt charge citing executive privilege. In September 2012, after a nineteen-month review, the United States Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General cleared the Attorney