Attorney General Eric Holder speaks at the CRS 45th Anniversary (DOJ)

The Attorney General can add another honor to his growing list.

Fresh off of his nomination as finalist for Mustached American of the Year, GQ magazine has named Eric Holder the 13th most powerful man in DC.

Sadly, Holder is only the third most powerful mustachioed politico, behind Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), who shares the 11th spot with bearded Rep. David Obey (D-Wis.), and President Obama’s adviser David Axelrod at the 6th spot on the list.

GQ credited Holder for his independence from the president, noting:

Holder has pushed back against the wishes of his own team, fighting CIA director Leon Panetta’s attempts to quash the release of the interrogation records and going forward with an investigation, against Obama’s wishes, into the alleged torture that took place during the Bush years. While critics on the left say he’s not going far enough, it’s nice to have a DOJ paying attention to the rule of law again.

The men’s magazine compiled the list to commemorate just how different things in Washington appear to be nine months into the Obama administration. “A whole new power structure has emerged,” the magazine says.

Holder comes in behind super-lobbyists Karen Ignagni (America’s Health Insurance Plans) and Billy Tauzin, (Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America), who jointly occupy the 12th spot, and ahead of House Finance Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.), at the 14th spot.

Robert Mueller (FBI)

Holder was not the only Justice Department luminary on the list. FBI Director Robert Mueller took the 19th spot, for his efforts to “build a more nimble intelligence division.”

Robert Barnett, attorney at Williams and Connolly LLP, took the 44th spot. Barnett has represented a veritable who’s-who of DC luminaries as they leave office to write their book, earning seven-figure advances for Sarah Palin, Dick Cheney, George W. Bush and Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Who’s at the top of the heap? The cleanshaven Rahm Emanuel, of course.

The ongoing saga on who knew what and when has two new twists today: a former intelligence professional told Talking Points Memo that the CIA did not use the “enhanced interrogation techniques” term when briefing House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wisc.) told Politico his staffer’s inclusion in the infamous briefings document is bunk.

TPM said that although the document refers to the discussion of “EITs” at each of the briefings, the source said the “EIT” term was not used until 2006 — four years after the briefing with Pelosi.

TPM reported:

“The former intel professional said that by using the term in the recently compiled document, the CIA was being “disingenuous,” trying to make it appear that the use of such techniques was part of a “formal and mechanical program.” In fact, said the former intel pro, it wasn’t until 2006 that — amid growing concerns about the program among some in the Bush administration — the EIT program was formalized, and the “enhanced interrogation techniques” were properly defined and given a name.”

As for Obey, the chairman wrote a letter to CIA Chief Leon Panetta asking the CIA chief to remove Obey aide Paul Juola from the document, Politico reported. Obey claimed that Joula was kicked out of the meeting before anything involving interrogations was discussed, Politico said.

The letter obtained by Politico:

“In light of current controversy about CIA briefing practices, I was surprised to learn that the agency erroneously listed an appropriations staffer as being in a key briefing on September 19, 2006, when in fact he was not. The list the agency released entitled “Member Briefings on Enhanced Interrogation Techniques (EITs)â€�, shows that House Appropriations Committee defense appropriations staffer Paul Juola was in that briefing on that date. In fact, Mr. Juola recollects that he walked members to the briefing room, met [former CIA Director] General Michael Hayden and Mr. Walker, who were the briefers, and was told that he could not attend the briefing. We request that you immediately correct this record.”