Deputy Atty. Gen. Nominee Defended Saudi Terrorist

President Obama’s nominee to be second-in-command at the Justice Department represented the Saudi royals who helped finance the 2001 terrorist attacks and raked in millions of dollars to “monitor” a collapsed insurance company that got a massive government bailout.

Furthermore, the president’s choice (James Cole) to be Deputy Attorney General believes that the Middle Eastern terrorists who attacked the U.S. on September 11 are simply domestic criminals that commit crimes such as rape and murder. This is concerning because, as the No. 2 official at the Justice Department, Cole would play a lead role in decision-making involving terror prosecutions.

A top white-collar criminal defense attorney in Washington D.C., Cole is a longtime friend of Attorney General Eric Holder who served as deputy of the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Division under Bill Clinton. Obama nominated him last month and the Senate Judiciary Committee is holding confirmation hearings this week.

Cole has a shady history that contradicts the president’s assertion that “the American people will be well served by his integrity and commitment to the law.” He represented Saudi Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud when insurance carriers and Sept. 11 survivors sued him and others for financing terrorists. Treasury Department documents provided evidence of extensive financial support for Al Qaeda and other extremist groups by members of the Saudi royal family and Prince Naif ran the Al Haramain Foundation, a Saudi charity that diverted funds to Al Qaeda before and after Sept.11, 2001.

In an opinion piece published by a legal journal, Cole likened the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon to the domestic crimes of murder, rape and child abuse, while arguing that the attackers ought to be treated like domestic criminals. The piece, which was included in material turned into the Senate Judiciary Committee that’s considering his nomination, had more to do with protecting the rights of the accused than shielding the country from terrorism.

Cole also made a killing when his buddies at the Justice Department hired him to work as an “independent monitor” reviewing the activities of insurance giant AIG. He got $20 million for his effort, even though the company collapsed and got a monstrous $182.3 billion government bailout. Some of the money will be paid back but the bailout is estimated to cost U.S. taxpayers a good $45 billion.

If he gets confirmed Cole will manage the Justice Department’s 100,000 employees and serve as its top official when the attorney general is unable to so. He will also be one of the agency’s most important public figures, on Capitol Hill and events nationwide. Essentially, he will run the agency charged with enforcing the law and ensuring public safety against foreign and domestic threats.