Eric
Holder, who heads Mr Obama's justice department, is said to have
become "incensed" after being accused by David Axelrod of complaining
publicly about political interference in his office.
"That's
bull****," Mr Holder said in a confrontation after a cabinet meeting,
according to author Daniel Klaidman. He writes: "The two men stood chest
to chest. It was like a school yard fight".
The
relatively mild-mannered Mr Axelrod is said to have told the attorney general:
"Don't ever, ever accuse me of trying to interfere with the operations of
the Justice Department", a taboo in US politics.
In
'Kill or Capture: The War on Terror and the Soul of the Obama Presidency',
Klaidman discloses the struggles within Mr Obama's White House at it mounted
its controversial campaign against al-Qaeda.
He
writes that Mr Holder and Mr Axelrod were separated by Valerie Jarrett, a White
House adviser and confidante to Mr Obama. Ms Jarrett "pushed her way
between the two men, her sense of decorum disturbed, ordering them to 'take it
out of the hallway'," says Klaidman.
The argument is said to have
erupted over attempts to add a political official to the staff of Mr Holder,
who has presided over a handful of political and public relations blunders
since taking office in 2009. Read More
