Holder rejected D.C. vote bill findings

WASHINGTON, April 1 (UPI) -- U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder rejected a finding that allowing a seat in Congress for the District of Columbia was unconstitutional, sources say.

The finding, delivered by the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, found that a bill pending in Congress to give the district a vote in the House of Representatives for the first time was unconstitutional but Holder overrode those findings, sources briefed on the issue told Wednesday's Washington Post.

"The attorney general weighed the advice of different people inside the department, as well as the opinions of legal scholars, and made his own determination that the D.C. voting rights bill is constitutional," Holder spokesman Matthew Miller told the Post, adding that the attorney general didn't base his decision on politics.

After the OLC lawyers delivered their assessment, Holder reportedly sought the opinion of the solicitor general's office, where lawyers told him that they could defend the legislation if it were challenged after its enactment.

Backers of the D.C. measure contend that its constitutionality has been endorsed by such legal voices as the American Bar Association and former federal appellate judge Kenneth Starr, the Post said.