Beck had stated on-air during his Fox show that an informant in the White House tipped him off that (now former-)counsel Greg Craig would be on his way out the door, to be replaced by Bauer, a close ally of Obama. And, just as I predicted in my original blog post on this, the White House is using Craig as a fall-boy for a failing Guantanamo policy:
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. As the White House's top lawyer, Craig was pivotal in advising the President it was wise 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, though Craig supporters note he was not the only top official who supported the ironclad executive order and they believe he is being made a scapegoat.
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Meanwhile, as Townhall contributor and conservative blogger Michelle Malkin notes, Bauer and Obama have a long, storied past together:One of the Democratic officials who spoke to CNN 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.
*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 delegitimize critics in the media.
Girding loins? You betcha.
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