Politico’s Mike Allen to Holder: Is Sharpton ‘Too Close’ to White House?

Mike Allen, Politico’s chief White House correspondent, sat down for an in-depth interview with outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder. They touched on Holder’s Republican critics, race, Ferguson, and the Department of Justice’s record in cracking down on journalists, among other things. But Allen also asked a question that many critics of the Obama administration have been asking: “Is Al Sharpton too close to this White House?”

Sharpton has been to the White House on many occasions, particularly amid cases where race is concerned, and many on the right and Fox News have questioned why President Obama would elevate a provocateur like Sharpton, especially given that report last year about how he owes millions in taxes.

Holder shot down the idea Sharpton is “too close” to the White House, saying, “The president has a number of people who he listens to, who he interacts with. You know, Reverend Sharpton is a person who has interacted with people within the administration, including myself. But we also hear from people who have, you know, fundamentally different views than Al Sharpton has.”

He said President Obama “gets a lot of input from a variety of sources,” not just from Sharpton, and hearing all those different perspectives is important.

Watch the clip below, via Politico:

[image via screengrab]

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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

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