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Eric Holder, in Vogue

By Leah Nylen

(Vogue)

Eric Holder, fashion icon?

Attorney General Eric Holder has made the latest edition of Vogue — the famed September issue — the Washington Examiner reported. The September issue is the fashion mag’s largest edition of the year, featuring the biggest pre-fall fashions and styles.

Inside, Holder is featured in a two-page photo spread taken at the Justice Department headquarters in Washington, D.C. (sadly, no details on who he’s wearing). The photos accompany a short profile that details his job and its effect on him — his children don’t think he smiles as much as he once did.

“You have a responsibility to keep the American people safe,” Holder told the magazine. “It weighs on you. You literally go to bed and think, Have I done what I can?”

Other revelations — during his years in private practice at Covington & Burling LLP, Holder briefly thought about running for mayor of Washington. His wife, Dr. Sharon Malone, put the kibbosh on that idea.

“She told him he’d make a great mayor and she would vote for him — but he’d be running as a single man,” according to the magazine.

Holder also told Vogue that he tries not to dwell on the criticism he receives, often from Republicans on Capitol Hill.

“It’s the reality of being attorney general,” Holder said. “When I am dealing with some congressman who is trying to engage me so that he can end up on television, I have to think, What do I want people to think about this department 50 years from now? … You have to have an inner compass that tells you the right thing to do. That’s what I tell the people who work for me. Trust your instincts. If something makes you feel uncomfortable, that’s where you need to look.”

Photos by Peter Lindbergh, Vogue

This year’s edition also features actress Halle Berry, the first African-American to win an Academy Award for Best Actress, on the cover — the first time the magazine has featured an African-American on the cover of the September issue since 1989.

This post has been updated since it was first published.

Full post as published by Main Justice on August 23, 2010 (boomark / email).