NBC news confirms that Eric Holder will accept the position as Barack Obama's Attorney General. NBC's Savannah Guthrie talked to Mark Whitaker who reports that Holder was the front runner for the position.

John Amato:

Holder comes out of the Clinton administration and was linked to the Mark Rich pardon which will have Conservatives up in arms, but supported Barack Obama for president. We need an AG for the people and not like the Bush crony Alberto Gonzales. It's no shock that Obama will appoint ex-Clinton people to his staff as his administration takes shape. Many capable people came out of that administration.

Newsweek:

President-elect Obama has decided to tap Eric Holder as his attorney general, putting the veteran Washington lawyer in place to become the first African-American to head the Justice Department, according to two legal sources close to the presidential transition.

Holder, who served as deputy attorney general during the Clinton administration, still has to undergo a formal “vetting” review by the Obama transition team before the selection is final and is publicly announced, said one of the sources, who asked not to be identified talking about the transition process.

Holder, 57, has been on Obama’s “short list” for attorney general from the outset. A partner at the D.C. law firm of Covington & Burling, Holder served as co-chief (along with Caroline Kennedy) of Obama’s vice-presidential selection process. He also actively campaigned for Obama throughout the year and grew personally close to the president-elect