WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- Former FBI Director Louis Freeh said Friday that Attorney General-designate Eric Holder allowed himself `` to be used '' by the Clinton White House in the pardon process for then-fugitive financier Marc Rich in January 2001 . Former FBI director Louis Freeh calls Attorney General-designate Eric Holder man of `` tremendous integrity . '' But Freeh told senators at Holder 's confirmation that Holder was nevertheless a man of `` tremendous integrity '' who `` will never allow himself again to be put in that position . '' `` The pardon of Marc Rich was a corrupt act , '' Freeh said , but was not Holder 's responsibility . Freeh asserted that President Bill Clinton 's White House staff kept the FBI and Justice Department `` in the dark '' and `` actively conspired '' to ensure that nobody knew what pardons were being considered shortly before Clinton left office . `` The [ Clinton ] White House went to extraordinary lengths to deceive the attorney general , myself , the Department of Justice and everyone about who was on the secret pardon list . ... I do n't think it 's fair to put that blame totally on Eric Holder , '' Freeh said . `` He takes responsibility , and he will never make that mistake again . '' Holder , Freeh said , had a proven track record of `` political independence '' and an ability `` to say no '' to the White House when necessary . Freeh was the opening witness on the second day of Holder 's confirmation hearing . Holder , who was deputy attorney general during Clinton 's second term , acknowledged at the outset of his confirmation hearing that many of his past `` decisions were not always perfect '' and that he `` made mistakes , '' but , if confirmed , he said , he would `` faithfully execute '' his duties in a `` fair , just and independent manner . '' Watch Holder admit he made mistakes » . He was particularly quick to admit that he made mistakes during the Rich pardon incident at the end of the Clinton administration that were `` not typical '' of his conduct over most of his career . Holder said he `` made assumptions that turned out not to be true '' during Rich 's pardon process , which turned out to be the `` most intense '' and `` searing '' experience he `` ever had as a lawyer . '' He said that as a result of the experience , he would `` be a better attorney general . '' One of the lessons of the Rich case , Holder stated , is the need for `` full consultation with all lawyers in the pardon process . '' He said there is a need to improve the pardon process , which seems to experience a `` deterioration ... at the end of every administration . '' Holder was also harshly criticized Friday for `` playing Russian roulette '' with the safety of Americans for making an `` egregious recommendation '' in 1999 of clemency for 16 members of a Puerto Rican nationalist group convicted of conspiracy and bomb-making charges . Joseph Connor , the son of a victim of a 1975 New York City restaurant bombing by the FALN -- or Armed Forces of National Liberation -- testified that the former federal judge and prosecutor was `` soft on terror '' and , as a result , should be `` disqualified '' for the position of attorney general . `` These terrorists took away my dad 's life , '' Connor said . `` Did he actually believe in their cause ? Did he not know what they did ? '' Holder stated during his confirmation hearing Thursday that Clinton 's decision to grant clemency to the 16 FALN members `` was reasonable . '' Holder also noted that there were `` a lot of people in support of that clemency request , '' including former President Jimmy Carter and Coretta Scott King , the widow of the Rev . Martin Luther King Jr . The FALN is responsible for multiple attacks on U.S. military installations . When Holder appeared before senators Thursday , he drew a clear distinction with President Bush 's Justice Department by stating unambiguously that the controversial interrogation technique of waterboarding `` is torture '' and a violation of the Geneva Conventions . Watch Holder call waterboarding torture » . Holder , who will be the nation 's first African-American attorney general if confirmed , pledged to support interrogation techniques that are `` effective , '' but do n't `` serve as recruiting tools for the enemy '' or violate America 's treaty obligations . Any techniques used by the government , Holder said , need to be `` consistent with who we are as Americans . '' Justice Department officials have admitted that waterboarding -- one of the greatest points of dispute between the Bush administration and both congressional Democrats and civil liberties watchdog groups -- was used in the past , but is no longer practiced , officials have said . The debate over waterboarding was one of a series of issues covered in Holder 's confirmation hearing that have sharply and often bitterly divided Democrats and Republicans over the past eight years . Other issues raised during the hearing included the decision to hold prisoners at the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay , Cuba ; the implementation of the Patriot Act ; and the broader need to strike an appropriate balance between protecting civil liberties and effectively prosecuting the war on terror . Watch Holder say it could take a year to close Gitmo » .
Former FBI director Louis Freeh calls Holder a man of `` tremendous integrity '' Freeh calls pardon of Marc Rich `` a corrupt act '' but not Holder 's responsibility . Holder admits he `` made mistakes '' in handling of pardon of financier Rich . Holder faulted for recommending clemency for Puerto Rican nationalists .