This procedure, which takes place tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of times each day in federal courthouses across the country, is apparently entirely unknown to the nation’s top law enforcement officer, Attorney General Eric Holder.

At a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing Thursday, Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.) asked Holder about the practice, which has been standard procedure at most, if not all, federal courthouses for the last decade or so.

“If I were to go to the federal courthouse here in D.C., either as a party or as an attorney, wouldn’t I have to show a government-issued photo ID?” Lungren asked.

“That’s not been my experience, here in DC. I don’t–you know,” Holder replied…

The attorney general also insisted that visitors do not need photo ID to enter Justice Department headquarters. (You’ll certainly be asked for it. Trust me.)