Pataki: Eric Holder a Factor for America's Racial Unrest

The nation's racial unrest can be blamed in part on former Attorney General Eric Holder and his embrace of rabble-rousers like the Rev. Al Sharpton, says GOP presidential candidate George Pataki, the former governor of New York.

"We have seen the country take a step backward in race relations over the course of the past seven years and it started when you have people like Eric Holder embracing Al Sharpton, who has been a divisive force forever," Pataki said Tuesday on "The Steve Malzberg Show."

Pataki cited Holder's trip to Ferguson, Missouri, last summer after unarmed black teen Michael Brown was shot dead by white Police Officer Darren Wilson, prompting riots — and Holder's Justice Department probe of the shooting even after a Missouri grand jury vindicated Wilson. He said Holder ultimately had to issue a report "saying that police officer did nothing wrong."

Reflecting on the Charleston, South Carolina, tragedy in which nine African-Americans were shot dead during a prayer meeting last week, Pataki told Steve Malzberg:

"It was a white racist who committed this horrible, horrible act of criminal terrorism. He should face the consequence, but we all have to look at ourselves and say, 'What are we doing to unite people instead of divide us?'"

"I'm fortunate, I grew up in a very ethnically, racially, very diverse community and we all looked at each other as part of that town. Neighbors, friends, teammate soon the basketball team or the track team.

"That's what we have to get back to. We're all Americans and let's stop dividing so that we can gain some advantage."

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