This morning's lede story in The New York Times about the divisions between Leon Panetta's C.I.A. and Eric Holder's Justice Department has a couple of interesting nuggets. Now that Justice is going to be conducting an investigation into detainee abuse, Langley is angry. Rahm Emanuel, when asked by the Times, said of the dispute:
“Leon’s representing his institutional building,” Mr. Emanuel said. “Eric’s representing his institutional responsibilities.”
Translation: One is doing his job, the other is doing what he has to do, politically speaking. This is not exactly surprising, but it is still worth noting how Emanuel phrased his words. Also:
Mr. Emanuel and others have concluded that the White House mishandled the planning for the closing of the detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Some in the administration blamed Mr. Craig, the White House counsel, for not anticipating and managing the political reaction to the decisions on Guantánamo and other issues. After The Wall Street Journal suggested that Mr. Craig was on the way out, a White House official said Mr. Emanuel reassured Mr. Craig that it was nonsense, and Mr. Craig’s defenders said he had been handed a thankless task.
Mike Crowley's piece on closing Gitmo can be read here.