Eric Holder

Article summary

Eric Himpton Holder Jr. (born January 21, 1951) is an American lawyer who served as the 82nd United States attorney general from 2009 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, Holder was the first African American to hold the position. Born in New York City to a middle-class family of Bajan origin, Holder graduated from Stuyvesant High School, Columbia College, and Columbia Law School. Following law school, he worked for the Public Integrity Section of the U.S. Department of Justice for twelve years. He next served as a judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia before being appointed by President Bill Clinton as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia and subsequently U.S. deputy attorney general. Holder prosecuted cases involving government corruption. While U.S. attorney, he prosecuted congressman Dan Rostenkowski for corruption charges related to his role in the Congressional Post Office scandal. Following the Clinton administration, he worked at Covington & Burling, representing the firm's multinational corporate clients in litigation. Holder was senior legal advisor to Barack Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign and one of three members of his vice-presidential selection committee. Holder was a close ally and confidante of Obama's and was selected as his first attorney general.…

Key claims

1. date of birth: 1951-01-21 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
2. date of birth: 1951-01-21 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
3. date of establishment: 2011 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
4. employees: 20 employees — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
5. members: 127 members — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
6. release date: 2012 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. The record states that the date of birth is "1951-01-21". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. The record states that the date of birth is "1951-01-21". What evidence would count against this claim?
4. The record states that the date of establishment is "2011". What evidence would count against this claim?
5. The record states that the employees is "20 employees". What evidence would count against this claim?
6. The record states that the members is "127 members". What evidence would count against this claim?
7. The record states that the release date is "2012". What evidence would count against this claim?
8. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
9. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1372794655