Friday the 13th and Greg Craig Tossed Under Obama Bus (New Video Added)

Note: 11/14/09 — Glenn Beck video coverage previously posted is no longer available and there are only a couple videos about Craig’s departure available.

Earlier this week came word that the White House communications director, Anita Dunn, was stepping down thirty days ahead of the expected end of the year projection.

In the wee hours of this morning, Friday the 13th, comes word that White House Counsel, Greg Craig, “who fell into disfavor with other top officials over his handling of President Barack Obama’s plan to close the Guantanamo Bay prison” will announce his resignation today has been tossed under the Obama bus and Dunn’s spouse, Robert Bauer, “a longtime Democratic election lawyer who also has served as Obama’s personal lawyer,” is to be Craig’s replacement.

The Politico outlines Craig’s faults:

The announcement of Craig’s exit was expected just days before a Monday deadline for the administration to announce which Guantanamo prisoners it plans to try before military commissions and which it wants to try in front of regular civilian courts.

Supporters of the administration’s efforts to close Guantanamo said they were concerned that the timing of Craig’s departure could be interpreted as a signal that Obama is wavering in his commitment to closing the prison, which currently houses about 200 terror suspects. In recent weeks, officials have acknowledged that the administration is unlikely to meet Obama’s self-imposed deadline to shutter the facility by Jan. 22.

Craig’s critics said he failed to anticipate the wave of criticism in Congress, which led to a series of lopsided votes last spring against bringing any Guantanamo detainees to the U.S. While many observers said it was a mistake to ask Congress for $80 million to close Guantanamo before being ready to announce where the prisoners would go in the U.S. and how they would be tried, Craig’s allies said the notion that he decided such issues of legislative strategy by himself was preposterous.

“The policy on Guantanamo that Obama inherited was a complete mess—legally, practically, and every which way. Cleaning it up was never going to be easy or pretty, and it was always going to involve difficult choices. But the president identified it as an early priority, and he was fortunate to have Greg in there forcing people to make those choices,” Elissa Massimino of Human Rights First said early Friday. “The guy charged with getting that done is never going to be popular. But he has been effective. And eventually, when the 9/11 plotters are finally brought to justice in federal court, Greg will deserve a portion of the credit.”

According to officials, the White House took much of the Guantanamo portfolio away from Craig earlier this year, handing most policy issues to the National Security Council, legislative issues to Obama senior adviser Pete Rouse, and communications issues to deputy communications director Dan Pfeiffer.

Craig, 64, also faced criticism for delays in the vetting process and for the White House being blindsided by a Justice Department legal brief which cause outrage among many of Obama’s gay supporters.

Craig was also faulted for other law-related distractions for the White House, such as the release of Bush-era legal memos about interrogation of terror suspects and a decision, later reversed, to release photos of prisoners allegedly abused in U.S. custody overseas.

Michelle Malkin writes:

The thug politics power couple of Anita “A Pox on Fox” Dunn and Bob “The Silencer” Bauer isn’t going anywhere. I said it earlier this week and on Fox News early Thursday morning (vid here).

Now comes word late tonight (Thursday, 12th) that Bauer is indeed — as has been rumored for nearly a month via Glenn Beck and FNC (so much for not news, huh?) — taking over the White House counsel position from Greg Craig.

The CNN headline from Tokyo is self-explanatory: Top White House lawyer to be pushed out.

CNN’s Ed Henry writes: “In the first major shakeup among President Barack Obama’s senior staff, White House Counsel Greg Craig is being pushed out in favor of veteran Democratic lawyer Bob Bauer because of a dispute over plans to close the U.S. military prison in Cuba.”

The source? The usual “White House sources.” Possible White House announcement later today.

Henry continues:

Democratic officials said Craig was ousted because of frustration among senior White House aides over his handling of the plans to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay. As the White House’s top lawyer, Craig was pivotal in advising Obama to sign an executive order during his first week in office promising to shut the prison by the end of January 2010.

In a politically embarrassing move that has frustrated some of the president’s liberal supporters, White House aides have since backed off that deadline, citing complex legal issues surrounding what to do with the approximately 200 terror suspects still detained at Guantanamo.

Some administration officials privately believe Craig should have better anticipated the pitfalls. However, his supporters believe he is being used as a scapegoat and note he was not the only top official who supported the ironclad executive order.

One of the Democratic officials acknowledged Craig’s tenure had been a “little choppy,” but downplayed the exit as part of the normal turnover in any administration after nearly one year in office.

Moe Lane at RedState.com comments: “Craig doesn’t seem all that happy to be pursuing a new and exciting career as a data point in the November unemployment statistics.”

Meaning? Craig’s future employment, or lack thereof, is unknown. Again, according to Henry:

Bauer was the chief attorney during the campaign, and will be leaving the law firm of Perkins Coie, a Seattle-based firm that has an office in Washington, D.C. There has been speculation that administration officials have been trying to find a federal judgeship or ambassadorial post for Craig, but officials said he may return to the law firm of Williams & Connolly.

Malkin adds:

I’ll remind you again of Bauer’s handiwork during the 2008 campaign:

*It was Bauer who lobbied the Justice Department unsuccessfully last fall to pursue a criminal probe of American Issues Project (AIP), an independent group that sought to run an ad spotlighting Obama’s ties to Weather Underground terrorist Bill Ayers.

*It was Bauer who attempted to sic the DOJ on GOP donor Harold Simmons and sought his prosecution for funding the ad.

*It was Bauer who tried to bully television stations across the country to compel them to pull the spot. All on Barack Obama’s behalf.

Bauer’s specialty is stifling dissent. He’s married to the woman Obama entrusted to lead the campaign to de-legitimize critics in the media.

Girding loins? You betcha.