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White House counsel set to resign after stumbling on Guantanamo, sources say
The White House announced Friday that embattled Gregory Craig was resigning as White House counsel.
Craig will be replaced by President Barack Obama’s personal lawyer, Bob Bauer, who will begin his post before the end of the year, according to the White House. Bauer is married to Anita Dunn, the interim White House communications director who announced earlier this week she was headed back to the private sector.
Obama said Craig was a trusted adviser and close friend who had tackled many challenges during his short tenure.
"I’m indebted to Greg not only for leading the c,ounsel’s office but for his many decades of service to this country as well," Obama said in a statement. "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.”
Craig's exit arrives about a month after he was relieved of his duties managing the shut down of the detention center at Guantanamo Bay.
White House officials hoped to complete that difficult process by January, at the latest. But staunch congressional opposition to the closure combined with a general uncertainty of where to house its prisoners cast great doubt on the president's set deadline -- an uncertainty for which Craig has taken the most serious blame.
The White House lawyer also faced a swelling chorus of criticism for his handling of the president's nominees, especially during the vetting process. However, Craig did oversee the successful confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court this summer, something Obama mentioned in his statement.
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