Greg Craig is Out in Guantanamo Dispute

Bob Bauer, husband of Anita Dunn (who recently resigned with the Obama administration), is replacing Greg Craig as White House lawyer, over Gitmo. Craig was criticized for not handling the politics of closing Gitmo very well. Bauer is seen as more politically savvy, according to Chuck Todd. See Craig's resignation letter here.

Here's an update--Gibbs disputes the dispute:

Said Gibbs: "The president sees Greg as a friend and trusted adviser and someone whose contributions to this administration are lengthy, particularly in setting up a process that will result in the [closure] of Guantanamo Bay. [Craig] was instrumental in both picking [and] nominating … the first Latina Supreme Court justice, in Sonya Sotomayor, in running a big operation in the White House, in helping to shepherd judicial picks in general – not just the selection, but through the committee process on Capitol Hill."

AP's Mark Smith asked: "To be clear, Craig is NOT leaving because the president is dissatisfied in any way with his handling of Guantanamo?"

"That's correct," Gibbs replied. Politico

Meanwhile, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind in 9-11 attacks, will be prosecuted in New York City with a civilian trial.

The White House's top lawyer is announcing his resignation on Friday, senior administration officials said.

White House counsel Greg Craig has been the subject of questions about his future since late summer, dogged by talk that President Obama's promise to close the controversial Guantanamo Bay military prison by January went awry under Craig's leadership.

Craig also oversaw the president's revamping of U.S. policy on terrorism interrogations and detentions, including a ban on torture, and was at the center of administration moves to release many documents relating to the treatment of terror suspects under the Bush administration — and to oppose the release of photos of abuse of detainees overseas by U.S. personnel. All those decisions earned Obama considerable criticism, some from the right and some from the left. More at NPR

Obama's statement:

The White House today announced today that White House Counsel Greg Craig will return to private practice and Bob Bauer will serve as White House Counsel.

“Greg Craig is a close friend and trusted advisor who tackled many tough challenges as White House Counsel,” said President Obama. “Because of Greg’s leadership, we have confirmed the first Latina justice on the Supreme Court, set the toughest ethics standards for any administration in history, and ensured that we are keeping the nation secure in a manner that is consistent with our laws and our values. I’m indebted to Greg not only for leading the Counsel’s office but for his many decades of service to this country as well. He has been a huge asset in the White House, and he will be missed. I will continue to call on him for advice in the years ahead.”

Bauer is currently a partner at Perkins Coie. He will begin serving as White House Counsel by the end of this year.

“Bob has served as a trusted counselor for many years to many elected officials and is known as a tough and widely respected advocate,” said President Obama. “Bob is well-positioned to lead the Counsel’s office as it addresses a wide variety of responsibilities, including managing the large amount of litigation the administration inherited, identifying judicial nominees for the federal courts, and assuring that White House officials continue to be held to the highest legal and ethical standards.”

Attached is a letter from Greg Craig to the President.

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Blago Review Results

This was much ado about nothing, but here are the results of Obama's internal review of his staff and their contacts with Blago. 

Obama Chooses 4 More Staffers

The real maverick 

Today's announcements:

President-elect Barack Obama today returned phone calls to five world leaders and expressed his appreciation for their congratulations on his election. President-elect Obama spoke with:

Colombian President Uribe
Nigerian President Yar’Adua
Senegalese President Wade
South African President Motlanthe
United Nations Secretary General Ban

More White House announcements. Some of these were already known and are now official.

Washington - President-elect Barack Obama today announced the following key White House staff: David Axelrod, Lisa Brown, Greg Craig, and Chris Lu. David Axelrod will serve as Senior Advisor to the President, Lisa Brown will serve as Staff Secretary, Greg Craig will serve as White House Counsel, and Chris Lu will serve as Cabinet Secretary.

"I am pleased to announce these new additions to our team, and I'll be relying on their broad and diverse experience in the months ahead as we work to strengthen our economy, reform Washington, and meet the great challenges of our time," said President-elect Barack Obama.

David Axelrod, Senior Advisor to the President
David Axelrod served as President-elect Obama’s Chief Strategist during the presidential campaign, and led Obama’s 2004 Senate campaign. A native of New York City, Axelrod graduated from the University of Chicago and spent eight years as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, where he covered national, state, and local politics and became the youngest political writer and columnist in the paper’s history. Leaving journalism in 1984, Axelrod managed Paul Simon’s upset victory over incumbent U.S. Senator Charles Percy of Illinois. In 1985, he founded Axelrod & Associates, a political consulting firm known today as AKP&D Message and Media. Axelrod has worked for leading Democrats across the country, including Senators Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd, and Herb Kohl, as well as Governor Tom Vilsack of Iowa, Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, Congressman Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, and Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago, along with mayors of big cities across the country. He is married to Susan Axelrod, president and founder of Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE). They have three grown children.

Lisa Brown, Staff Secretary
Lisa Brown is the Executive Director of the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy. Lisa was Counsel to Vice President Gore from September 1999 through January 2001, and Deputy Counsel from April 1997 through August 1999. In addition to advising the Vice President on legal issues, Lisa served on the Executive Board of the President's Committee for Employment of People with Disabilities and worked closely with the Vice President's Domestic Policy Office on a variety of legislative initiatives. Lisa was an Attorney Advisor in the Office of Legal Counsel at the Department of Justice from June 1996 until April 1997. Prior to her government service, Lisa was a Partner in the Washington, D.C. law firm Shea & Gardner. Ms. Brown graduated Magna Cum Laude from Princeton University with a B.A. in Political Economy in 1982. She received her law degree with Honors from the University of Chicago Law School in 1986.

Greg Craig, White House Counsel
Gregory B. Craig served under President Bill Clinton as Assistant to the President and Special Counsel. Prior to his appointment to that post he served for two years as Director of Policy Planning under Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Craig also worked for Senator Edward M. Kennedy as Senior Advisor on Defense, Foreign Policy, and National Security from 1984-1988. In addition to his service in government, Craig brings to the White House a wealth of experience in civil and criminal litigation.

Chris Lu, Cabinet Secretary
Christopher P. Lu has worked for President-elect Obama in a number of roles over the past four years. He was Legislative Director and Acting Chief of Staff in Obama’s Senate office, as well as a policy advisor during the presidential campaign. Chris is now the Executive Director of the Obama-Biden Transition Project, where he manages the day-to-day operations of the transition. From 1997 to 2005, he was Deputy Chief Counsel to Rep. Henry A. Waxman on the Democratic staff of the House Government Reform Committee (now the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee). A graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School, Chris was a litigation attorney at Sidley Austin in Washington, D.C. (1992-1997), after a clerkship with the Honorable Robert E. Cowen of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (1991-1992).

Also, Tom Daschle chosen as Secretary of Health and Human Services

Greg Craig White House Counsel

In addition to Craig, Obama chooses three more: Peter Rouse will be a presidential advisor; Mona Sutphen and Jim Messina will both be deputy chiefs of staff;

Politico: Gregory B. Craig, a well-known Washington lawyer who quarterbacked President Bill Clinton’s impeachment defense, has been chosen White House counsel by President-elect Barack Obama, according to Democratic officials.

Craig is intimately familiar with the president-elect’s record because he played the role of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in debate preparations.

The officials said Obama has settled on Craig but were not sure when the appointment would be announced. more

Obama Goes to Debate Camp

Obama's getting ready to whup McCain's butt. Debate is next Friday. Greg Craig will play McCain.

NYT: DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Senator Barack Obama is heading to camp next week in Florida – debate camp, that is.

Mr. Obama is going to sequester himself near Tampa Bay beginning Tuesday for intensive preparation in advance of the first presidential debate on Friday. A tight circle of key advisers will be on hand, including Greg Craig, an adviser and foreign policy specialist, who is playing the role of Senator John McCain.

The choice of Florida – particularly the critical swing region near Tampa Bay – will be announced by the campaign in the coming days. It was, of course, selected with politics in mind.

The Atlantic has a long story on presidential debates, who wins them and why we watch.
McCain's mission during the debates is to keep his cool, according to conservative columnist Bill Kristol.

Maybe We Are a Nation of Whiners

Obama has to please everybody. Maybe we are a nation of whiners as Phil Gramm said. Everyone's got their little splinter group for whining about this and that.
Now Cuban Americans are pushing Obama to fire staff members that sent Elian Gonzalez back to his father. Get over yourselves. I can say that because I'm not a politician or a power broker just a blogger who's tired of all the whining.

Swamp: Eight Cuban American exile groups are demanding that presidential hopeful Barack Obama remove two campaign advisors who were involved in the Elian Gonzalez case.

Representatives of the organizations wrote a letter to Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Miami Mayor Manny Diaz with a call for Obama to get rid of senior foreign policy advisor Greg Craig and vice presidential vetter Eric Holder.

The groups said the men's role in the campaign is a "great offense" to the Cuban American community.