by Glynn Wilson

President Barack Obama’s attorney, White House Counsel Greg Craig, may be asked to recuse himself from deciding the new administration’s policy on “executive privilege” as it relates to the Congressional investigation of Karl Rove, the former Bush political adviser who was involved in advising the Justice Department on political firings and prosecutions.

Rove is scheduled to appear before the House Judiciary Committee on Monday under a congressional subpoena to testify about his knowledge of political manipulation of the justice system, in the firings of U.S. attorneys who would not do the bidding of the Bush White House and in the political prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman.

But it is not clear as of midnight Saturday night whether an agreement has been reached in ongoing negotiations between the committee, the courts, the White House or the Justice Department under new Attorney General Eric Holder.

Legal documents show that Craig could have a conflict of interest since he has represented Rove in the past, and informed sources say he is a close friend of Rove who has been seen drinking with him in Washington bars on occasion. Craig is also an old acquaintance of Don Siegelman. They met in 1968, Siegelman confirmed in an e-mail message, although he has so far not agreed to reveal more about their relationship over the years.

“Greg Craig is a very good person and very good lawyer,” Siegelman said.

Also of interest, Craig’s law partner at Williams and Connolly, Emmet Flood, is representing George W. Bush in the negotiations. Bush has pushed for an all-inclusive definition of executive privilege and demanded that Rove and other former White House staffers, including Bush’s chief of staff Josh Bolton and one-time White House Counsel Harriet Miers, refuse to cooperate with Congress or the courts.

Under an order by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, Craig has until February 25 to arrive at an agreement with Rove’s attorney and the Justice Department on whether the Obama administration will uphold Bush’s claim of executive privilege in Rove’s case. U.S. District Judge John Bates, a Bush appointee, ruled that Rove does not enjoy executive privilege and denied Craig’s request to put off the decision until March 4.

Flood was also the special counsel to President Bush who ordered the Republican National Committee to withhold e-mails from the House Judiciary Committee on the U.S. Attorneys firings investigation, according to investigative reporter Wayne Madsen.

And the conflicts on Crag’s part do not end there…

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