Eric Holder To Ferguson Leakers: ‘Shut Up’

Attorney General Eric Holder says that he is beyond exasperated–he is “mad,” in fact–at the leaks pouring out of the investigation into the police shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

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“I think that somebody, these leakers, have made the determination that they’re trying to somehow shape public opinion about this case,” Holder told The Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart.

“And that’s inconsistent with the way in which we conduct investigations, and especially grand jury investigations which are supposed to be secret.”

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“This notion of leaking out selective information, which started as early as release of that tape . . . the convenience store. And then these leaks about what happened in the car. These are all the kinds of things that I think are inappropriate. I’ve said I’m exasperated. That’s a nice way of saying it. I’m mad,” said Holder, who recently announced that he will leave the Department of Justice.

Holder also appeared to put the blame for the leaks on local law enforcement agencies rather than federal authorities.

“We’ve not seen any leaks there. Whoever the sources of the leaks are need to shut up,” he said.

At Wednesday’s event, Holder also addressed a recent report that Ferguson chief Tom Jackson would be replaced with St. Louis County police chief Jon Belmar. Holder refused to comment on the matter, but did indicate that he would support the ouster.

“I think it’s pretty clear that the need for wholesale change in that department is appropriate,” he said.

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Chief Jackson and Ferguson mayor James Knowles denied the reports that Jackson was leaving his post. Knowles also told The Daily Caller on Tuesday that he was informed by CNN–which first aired the report that Jackson was being removed–that the DOJ was the source of their information.