Reports: Eric Holder tabbed for AG

WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Eric Holder Jr., formerly the No. 2 lawyer in the Justice Department under President Bill Clinton, has been selected for U.S. attorney general, reports said.

Democratic sources told the Washington Post Tuesday Holder, a close confidant of President-elect Barack Obama, is Obama's top choice. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, he would be the first African-American Attorney General of the United States.

National Public Radio said Holder was expected to be offered the top job but there has been no formal word from the Obama transition office that he will be nominated.

Holder, 57, has been a judge and a top federal prosecutor in Washington as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia and deputy attorney general, the Post said. Most recently he has been a partner in the law firm of Covington and Burling, and played an active role as an adviser in the Obama presidential campaign.

"I think that his appointment is one that both the law enforcement and the civil rights community can exhale, and says that someone that is fair and open will take the top law enforcement seat in Washington," activist and National Action Network President the Rev. Al Sharpton said in a statement.

Holder served on Obama's vice presidential vetting committee, which selected Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., before the Democratic National Convention in Denver.