D.C. Swamp Monsters Part II: Vetting Eric Holder and His Campaign to Gerrymander Ohio
Eric Holder wants to fundamentally transform Ohio.
Do you trust him?
On the Record has detailed his plan (here, here, and here) to flip our state from red to blue using Issue 1 – the elitist and anti-democratic ballot initiative to put redistricting into the hands of unelected bureaucrats.
It would overthrow the Ohio Constitution’s provisions on redistricting overwhelming approved by voters in 2015 and 2018.
Holder’s big pitch is that “independent” citizens panels will draw fairer redistricting maps than elected officials. That’s not how it turned out in Michigan, which immediately flipped from red to blue.
Trust me, says Holder to Ohio – like Lucy holding the football for Charlie Brown – promising this time it will be different.
Should you?
(Editor's note: In a special edition of the President's Podcast this week, we highlight the insight of nationally known Election Law attorney and Redistricting expert Frank Strigari, State Auditor and Redistricting Commission Chairman Keith Faber, Senate President Matt Huffman and the Chair and Co-Chair of the Ohio Ballot Board, Secretary of State Frank LaRose and Senator Theresa Gavarone. They point out the hypocrisy of what we like to call the "Political Outcomes Over People" D.C. swamp driven campaign.)
On The Record detailed Holder’s scandalous record as attorney general last week.
This week, we look at Holder’s political judgment.
Obama tapped Holder to vet his running mate in 2008.
That’s how we ended up with President Biden.
This year, Vice President Kamala Harris tapped Holder to vet her running mate.
Somehow, Holder sold Harris on the raging political dumpster fire that is Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
Since Holder’s vetting we have learned that Walz has:
• Lied about his military service
• Lied about his DUI
• Lied about a business award
• Let Minneapolis burn during riots
• Ignored skyrocketing violent crime
• Mismanaged his covid response
• Mismanaged his state covid funds
• Opposed free speech
• Praised and funded leader who praised Hitler
• Praised socialism
Never mind those mundane details, says the former attorney general.
Holder told MSNBC he gave a thumbs up to Walz based on his record as a “distinguished Congressman”, his “accomplishments” as governor, “great career in the military,” and as a “great teacher.”
Let’s fact-check that record to gain some insight into Holder’s political judgment.
How bad is it?
This bad.
Eight of Walz's family members posed for a picture opposing him and supporting President Trump.
Walz's older brother, Jeff, says "I'm 100% opposed to all his ideology."
Even national Democrats were shocked that Harris picked Holder to vet her vice presidential candidate.
The American Prospect, a progressive website, called it "Kamala Harris’s Eric Holder Problem" and declared, "Her choice to vet candidates for vice president needed more vetting himself."
"Of all the people available to review and recommend possible candidates for Kamala Harris’s running mate, why did she choose Eric Holder?"
"[I]n a sense, Eric Holder was her first major appointment, and it is a troubling one.”
Why all the angst?
That becomes clear once we do the job the mainstream media refuses to do – take a close look at the full Walz record.
Lied Repeatedly About His Military Service
Those who served in the military with Walz called him a traitor, coward, and a liar. The Washington Post fact checker said Walz lied about seeing combat action in Iraq. Walz's claim was called "sloppy and false.”
His former battalion commander said Walz is fraudulently using the retired command sergeant major rank. Walz's provisional promotion was reversed and his rank was reduced to master sergeant when he retired from his Minnesota Army National Guard unit on September 10, 2005.
But Walz repeatedly and falsely used that elevated rank in descriptions of his military career in campaign ads, interviews, and public appearances. Democrats doubled-down on Walz’s lie, introducing him at their national convention as “command sergeant major.”
The command sergeant major who replaced Walz called that lie stolen valor. He also called Walz a coward and a traitor for quitting on the eve of deployment to Iraq in 2005. The chaplain of the field artillery regiment Walz abandoned also called him a coward.
Fifty military veterans in Congress signed an open letter to Walz blasting him for stolen valor. They wrote: “Repeatedly claiming to be a 'retired command sergeant major' when you did not complete the requirements was not honorable."
"Nor was it honorable to claim to carry weapons 'in war' when you had not served in war, and abandoning the men and women under your leadership just as they were getting ready to deploy was certainly not honorable either."
Let Minneapolis Burn
Despite requests from the Minneapolis mayor, Governor Walz waited for four days of rioting, burning, and looting before calling in the National Guard during the Gorge Floyd riots in 2020. Walz disparaged the National Guard as “19-year-old cooks” despite previously bragging about his service.
The riots caused $500 million in damages and destroyed hundreds of businesses in the Twin Cities. Walz admitted he took too long to respond but expressed sympathy for the rioters and supported the defund the police movement.
A Minneapolis journalist wrote, "Gunshots flew through the windows of homes, killing innocent bystanders, sending gas stations and grocery stores into flames, and allowing rioters to loot at their leisure."
"Entire city blocks turned into a fiery ash heap, forcing my friends to flee for their lives due to shootings, riots, violence, left-wing activists blocking major highways, and mobs right in front of their doorsteps."
Walz’s wife found a macabre mystique in the rioting, telling the media, "I could smell the burning tires, and that was a very real thing. And I kept the windows open as long as I could because I felt like that was such a touchstone of what was happening."
Covid Dictator
Walz put Minnesota on lockdown for almost two years during the Covid pandemic, jailing people who tried to reopen their businesses. A business owner who suffered financial devastation called Walz “an evil person ... a complete failure ... an incredibly divisive leader ... and an absolute dictator.”
Walz’s extended lockdown shut down schools, churches and businesses and instituted draconian mask mandates including ordering people to stay at home. He set up a snitch line to report residents who violated his mandates.
Walz’s disastrous nursing home policies, allowing patients with COVID into nursing homes after they were discharged from hospitals, resulted in over 5,000 deaths from COVID, one of the highest percentages in the country.
By May of 2020, 80% of COVID-related deaths in the state occurred among residents of long-term care facilities, including nursing homes and assisted living centers. Walz discouraged families from taking their loved ones out of nursing homes.
Covid Fraud
$250 million was stolen in the largest Covid fraud scheme in the country under lax oversight by Governor Walz. Federal prosecutors charged 70 people with defrauding federal food programs that were supposed to fund meals for kids during the pandemic.
All of the people at the Minnesota Department of Education and the other departments where the fraud took place were appointed by Walz. Many of those indicted were Democratic campaign contributors.
Prosecutors say the nonprofit Feeding Our Future submitted the names of fake children they claimed were receiving the meals.
The fraud suspects spent the quarter billion dollars on everything from residential property to vehicles, luxury goods, jewelry, cryptocurrency, hotels and restaurants, airplane tickets.
No one was ever fired or held accountable by Walz. But the U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee has been investigating the fraud since 2022.
The committee issued subpoenas on Wednesday demanding Walz turn over documents showing "the extent of your responsibilities and actions addressing the massive fraud that resulted in the abuse of taxpayer dollars intended for hungry children."
Praised and Funded Muslim Leader Who Praised Hitler
A video from Walz’s 2018 gubernatorial campaign shows Walz praising Imam Asad Zaman of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota (MAS), an admirer of Adolph Hitler.
“I would like to first of all say thank you to Imam. I am a teacher, so when I see a master teacher, I know it,” says Walz in the video.
Zaman has defended the October massacre of 1,200 Israelis by Hamas. He has also posted official Hamas press releases on his Facebook page.
Federal prosecutors described his group MAS as "the overt arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in the United States.” The United Arab Emirates designated MAS a terrorist group in 2014.
Zaman told CNN he does not have a “personal” relationship with the governor. But Walz has met with Zaman on at least five occasions.
The Walz administration has awarded $100,000 in funding to MAS.
Ignored Skyrocketing Violent Crime
Crime rates began rising in Minnesota as soon as Walz took office in 2018, two years before the riots. Murder, aggravated assault, and rape rose above the national average. Violent crime in Minnesota in 2024 is still 29% above 2019.
CBS News reported the Minneapolis police department is understaffed by 200 officers and the police force has shrunk by 40% over the last four years.
Lied About DUI
Walz was arrested and charged with driving under the influence and speeding in his home state of Nebraska in 1995 after caught going 96 mph in a 55-mph zone and failing a breath test, with a .128 blood-alcohol level – well above the legal limit.
Despite failing a field sobriety test and breath test, Walz insisted he was not drunk. His lawyer blamed the incident on his client’s bad hearing.
The lawyer negotiated a plea deal to a reduced charge of reckless driving. Walz was a high school teacher and football coach at the time.
CNN reported, when Walz first ran for Congress in 2006, his campaign repeatedly lied about the arrest, claiming he did not fail the sobriety test. In 2018, Walz finally admitted he had been drinking that night.
Opposes First Amendment Right to Free Speech
“There’s no guarantee to free speech on misinformation or hate speech, and especially around our democracy” Walz said on MSNBC.
Democrat advisor and law professor Jonathan Turley retorted, “Ironically, this false claim, repeated by many Democrats, constitutes one of the most dangerous forms of disinformation.”
The Supreme Court has consistently rejected the claim that what Walz calls misinformation or hate speech are not constitutionally protected.
Turley says a Harris-Walz administration would be a nightmare for free speech.
Lied About Receiving Award
The Nebraska Chamber of Commerce says Walz lied about receiving an award from the group. The chamber president sent Walz a blistering letter in 2006 demanding he stop making the false claim.
When he first ran for Congress that year, Walz claimed the chamber gave him an award for his work with the business community.
Not only was that not true, the letter pointed out, "the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has endorsed your opponent."
When confronted with the lie, the Harris-Walz campaign said Walz frequently speaks "openly and off the cuff" and called President Trump a "pathological liar."
Says Socialism is Neighborly
"Don’t ever shy away from our progressive values," Walz said on a "White Dudes for Harris" call. "One person’s socialism is another person’s neighborliness."
"Neighborliness killed members of my family," journalist Karol Markowicz posted on X.
Back to Ohio
So, what does all this carnage left behind in the wake of train wreck Walz have to do with Ohio and the drive to overthrow a key part of our state constitution?
A couple of things.
First of all, Walz represents what Holder portrays as good governance.
If Holder thinks Walz is doing such a great job that he should be promoted to a job one heartbeat away from the presidency, what does that say about his judgment on how to run redistricting in Ohio?
Most importantly – Walz, Harris, and Holder share values that are elitist, anti-free speech, and anti-democracy.
This is antithesis of what we believe in Ohio and the values enshrined in our state constitution.
Look at what one Ohio public servant wrote just this week.
"Issue 1 is about the impatience and elitism of its creators who don’t trust or don’t like who voters choose as their representatives," wrote Philip Derrow in his column in The Columbus Dispatch.
It was titled, "Don't be bamboozled. Issue 1 is profoundly anti-democratic and elitist."
The retired business owner and two-term member of the New Albany-Plain Local Board of Education added, "Issue 1 will repeal existing constitutional protections against gerrymandering approved by voters in 2015 and 2018 and will substitute an elitist, anti-democratic, costly, and unnecessarily complex ‘Rube Goldberg’ process in its place.”
That's three references to elitists. Who are these elitists?
They are actually the elite of the elite.
The 1% of the 1%.
It is the woke Swiss billionaire funding the Issue 1 campaign.
It is the former attorney general who (with President Obama and Nancy Pelosi) launched a long-term scheme in 2012 to turn red states blue.
As On the Record has documented, the key players in the Citizens Not Politicians effort (the campaign behind Issue 1) in Ohio are not from Ohio.
They are Holder, his lawfare specialist Marc Elias, and Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss:
• Holder runs the National Democratic Redistricting Commission.
• Elias represents the NDRC, Citizens, and Wyss.
• Wyss funds the NDRC, Citizens, and Elias.
Technically, Wyss supports the National Redistricting Action Fund (NRAF). That’s the NDRC’s lawfare group that wages election litigation benefitting Democrats in battleground states.
Essentially:
• Holder is the mastermind.
• Elias is the hired gun.
• Wyss is the bankroller.
Wyss is on a mission is to "(re)interpret the American Constitution in the light of progressive politics,” according to the biography written by his sister.
He has donated $475 million to left-wing political groups to do that.
His Sixteen Thirty Fund spent $12 million dollars supporting leftist causes in ballot campaigns in Ohio in 2023.
The Sixteen Thirty Fund is also the largest backer of Citizens. The fund bankrolled by Wyss has already contributed $6,669,800 to the effort to overturn the Ohio Constitution’s redistricting amendment overwhelmingly approved by voters.
Holder and his cohorts are not spending all that money to boost democracy.
They’re doing it to buy votes.
They don’t want “fair maps.”
They don’t want “bipartisan” or “citizen” commissions.
They want more Democrats elected.
And they want to turn Ohio blue.
They think the price is right.
Garth Kant is Senior Press Secretary of the Ohio Senate Majority Caucus