It wasn't so long ago that the right-wing Republican candidate for eastern Connecticut's congressional seat lambasted then Attorney General Eric Holder for "sinister" plans to destroy the country.     

It seemed like part of a crazy rant then against the country's first black president and first black attorney general.

I am beginning to think, though, that sinister may not be such a bad word after all for the former attorney general, who has returned to his comfy corner office in the corporate law firm where, before launching his public service career, he took home a cool $2.5 million in annual pay.

Imagine how much Holder is taking home now as a partner at Covington & Burling, known for its representation of most of the nation's colossal banks.

After all, as attorney general, Holder took a pass on bringing the banking chieftains in place for the Great Recession to justice.

Never mind that Covington & Burling has been blamed for helping facilitate the rule changes that made mortgage securities so toxic, contributing to the meltdown.

Indeed, under Holder's regime at the Justice Department, critics of the lack of banking prosecutions coined the phrase "too big to jail."

Imagine the high fives Holder might have gotten when he returned to the Covington & Burling board room.

But wait. The embarrassment of pimping his public position didn't stop there.

Just last month, Holder lent his name and the prestige of his former title to the Vegas chieftains trying to stop Connecticut's two Indian tribes from opening a third casino.

It turns out MGM Resorts International, which is building a casino in Springfield, Mass., is represented by Covington & Burling in its lawsuit against the Connecticut law which has allowed the tribes to establish a partnership to begin planning for a joint casino north of Hartford.

Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen has — appropriately and professionally — responded to the MGM lawsuit in court with a motion to dismiss, saying there is nothing in the law that prevents MGM from doing the same thing.

Covington & Burling, under the MGM flag, decided to step outside the courtroom and, in a public relations stunt, played the Holder card.

The MGM media machine last month released a letter from Holder to Jepsen in which the former attorney general warns ominously that Connecticut is violating the U.S. Constitution in empowering the tribes.

Holder's name appears nowhere else in the lawsuit paperwork, and clearly it was floated by way of a news release in a lame attempt to score perception, not legal points.

His letter to Jepsen had zero legal nuance.

Shame on the former attorney general for using the prestige of his former government title to help some Vegas gambling moguls steal business from two Connecticut American Indian tribes.

I'm not sure it quite rose to the level of sinister. But it sure smelled bad.

MGM's lawsuit is expected to unfold on through December, as the federal court considers Jepsen's motion to dismiss.

Don't expect Holder to actually appear in court. Even he must see that the actual legal arguments on behalf of MGM are lame.

Next up could be more legislation from the Connecticut General Assembly that could create a northerly casino to help keep jobs and money from bleeding to Massachusetts.

Unfortunately, two Republican state lawmakers from eastern Connecticut were among those who voted against the law allowing the tribes to plan for a casino.

Let's hope they change their minds when the next bill comes up, now that we see one of the favorite Republican targets from the Obama Administration is playing for the other team.

This is the opinion of David Collins.

d.collins@theday.com

Twitter: @DavidCollinsct