White House counsel Greg Craig, who has caught blame for mishandling the politics of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility closing, says he’s not resigning.
“I have no plans to leave whatsoever,” Craig tells the National Law Journal in an interview for this week’s edition. “The rumors that I’m about to leave are false. The reports that I’m about to leave are wrong. I have no plans to leave.”
The Wall Street Journal first reported in August that Craig’s job was at stake over his handling of Gitmo, which the president vowed to shutter by January. But the administration had no plan for transferring the detainees, sparking an outcry in Congress.Â
Craig also said the Obama administration would not withdraw the names of long-stalled Department of Justice nominees. Thought the NLJ article doesn’t elaborate, Craig appears to be referring to Mary L. Smith, nominated to head the DOJ’s Tax Division; and Dawn Johnsen, the Office of Legal Counsel nominee.
At Smith’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in May, ranking Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions (Ala.) objected to her lack of tax experience. Johnsen’s nomination has been pending since February. Republicans have objected to her past advocacy of abortion rights and her outspoken criticism of the Bush-era legal authorizations of harsh interrogation tactics.
Also, Christopher Schroeder’s nomination for the Office of Legal Policy has been pending since June, but the delay appears due more to scheduling issues than any controversy. The Senate last week confirmed Tom Perez as the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, after months of delay.
In the NLJ interview, Craig also said a new special counsel to the president –Â former O’Melveny & Myers partner Michael Camunez — has been running the nominee vetting process since February to avoid a repeat of messes like the Tom Daschle or Bill Richardson withdrawals.
“I think we do more vetting and more background checks than previous White House counsel have done,” Craig told the NLJ. Read the full story here.
Interesting. I wonder what started the rumor that Mr Craig was leaving? The prison has not been handled well, but it doesn’t seem like anyone would be quitting at this point yet.
Would love to see some clarity here (I guess time will tell). I worked with Greg in Clinton White House and think the world of him, but I am guessing this White House may have more difficult issues that are somewhat impossible to resolve. Thanks to Main Justice for making this insight available, and interesting.
[...] support for Johnsen from the White House came in a statement by White House Counsel Greg Craig on October 11, 2009, a weak statement saying only that the White House “would not withdraw” her nomination. [...]
[...] support for Johnsen from the White House came in a statement by White House Counsel Greg Craig on October 11, 2009, a weak statement saying only that the White House “would not withdraw” her nomination. Craig [...]