Responding to the resignation of Attorney General Eric Holder today, MSNBC host and President of the National Action Network Al Sharpton suggested he’s in direct contact with the White House regarding Holder’s eventual successor.
In a statement, Sharpton lauded Holder while looking forward.
“The resignation of Attorney General Eric Holder is met with both pride and disappointment by the Civil Rights community. We are proud that he has been the best Attorney General on civil rights in U.S. history and disappointed because he leaves at a critical time when we need his continued diligence most. We are engaged in immediate conversations with the White House on their deliberations over a successor whom we hope will continue in the general direction of Attorney General Holder.
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Sharpton later spoke to Business Insider to clarify the NAN’s involvement: “We did not say we are in the decision making. We are in conversation to reach out to them to have meetings about what we want to see in a successor.”
Last month, we reported on Sharpton’s involvement in the high-profile cases surrounding the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson and Eric Garner in New York. “Rev. Al Sharpton is both President of the National Action Network and host on MSNBC,” MSNBC President Phil Griffin told us. “We’ve always been transparent about the dual roles and his work outside of MSNBC.”