By Brett Logiurato
4/1/2013
Business Insider
A religious nonprofit group named Attorney General Eric Holder the nation’s top “pornography facilitator” in a new report released Monday, due to a 2011 decision to shut down the Department of Justice’s Obscenity Task Force.
Holder was the sole individual named on Morality in Media’s “Dirty Dozen” list, which also includes Google, Comcast, Facebook, Twitter, and the Department of Defense.
In April 2011, Holder shut down the DOJ’s Obscenity Task Force, an operation set up under the George W. Bush administration in 2005.
The task force investigated and prosecuted distributors of hardcore pornography, but Holder folded that unit into the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section. At the time, the decision drew criticism from Congressional Republicans, led by Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch.
On Monday, Morality in Media accused Holder of “giving the green light to produce and distribute illegal, obscene pornography.”
“Holder’s actions keep the porn industry thriving,” president Patrick Trueman said in a statement.
“He not only refuses to enforce obscenity laws currently on the books that prohibit the distribution of hardcore pornography, but he even disbanded the office charged with enforcement.”
The Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the report.
