Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Man who defended Clinton during Impeachment named Obama's White House Council

President-Elect Barack Obama has chosen Gregory Craig has his White House Council. Craig is most known for defending President Clinton on the House Floor during impeachment hearings. However he has had more than a few controversial clients. I found this list over at Blogs for Victory:

Elian Gonzalez’s father - Craig represented the father who demanded the return of his son after his estranged wife died trying to take Elian to freedom. Most people saw this as a thinly-veiled publicity stunt from Fidel Castro, attempting to embarrass the US. The dispute got resolved when Janet Reno ordered an armed assault on the house where Elian’s family in the US provided him a home.

John Hinckley, Jr - Craig presented and won the insanity defense that allows Ronald Reagan’s would-be assassin to spend weekends with his family now.

Kofi Annan - The former Secretary-General of the UN hired Craig to defend his interests in the Volcker Commission probe of the Oil-for-Food scandal, which put billions of dollars into Saddam Hussein’s pockets while providing cash for Annan’s son, his deputies, and some allege Annan himself.

Pedro Gonzalez Pinzon - A Panamanian legislator wanted for murdering an American soldier in 1992. The Dallas Morning News demanded that Obama force Craig to drop the case during the campaign, but no report of whether he did is easily available.

So Craig defended a guy who shot a Republican President then stood in defense of a Democratic President who committed perjury. This must be Obama's definition of bi-partisanship. Of course he did defend Clinton during Impeachment so maybe Obama is just getting ready for future events.

All joking aside Barack Obama should have thought more about his White House council. I don't think choosing the guy that defended the man who shot Ronald Reagan is the best way to show bi-partisanship.

2 comments:

  1. It's not particularly uncommon for world-class attorneys to have defended questionable clients. Every man, woman, and child in this country deserves a proper defense. Given that fact, I'm not sure it's fair to criticize someone for providing to people exactly what the Constitution demands they have.

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  2. And since when has White House counsel been a role to which observers looked to measure the president's bi-partisanship?

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