A federal grand jury has indicted Greg Craig, President Barack Obama’s former White House counsel, on charges of lying to Justice Department investigators.
Craig, 74, was indicted Thursday for making false statements and concealing material information about his work on behalf of Ukraine. The indictment didn’t come as a surprise for Craig, who said he expected to be indicted by federal authorities.
The case reportedly stems from special counsel Robert Mueller’s 22-month investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. President Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort was convicted on a number of charges, including some related to his work in Ukraine.
Craig was twice interviewed by Mueller’s team, who reportedly probed work he did and statements he made when his then-law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, was working for then-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, a Russian ally.
The law firm entered into a $4.6 million settlement with the Justice Department in January over its Ukrainian work. The settlement blamed Craig for providing misleading information to the Justice Department.
In a statement released prior to his indictment, Craig’s lawyers said that they believed prosecutors were abusing their authority, noting that the case was previously investigated by the Southern District of New York before the Justice Department in Washington picked it up.
“This case was thoroughly investigated by the SDNY and that office decided not to pursue charges against Mr. Craig. We expect an indictment by the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office at the request of the National Security Division. Mr. Craig is not guilty of any charge and the government’s stubborn insistence on prosecuting Mr. Craig is a misguided abuse of prosecutorial discretion,” his lawyers said.
Craig is the first Democrat to be indicted as part of the wide-reaching probe. He faces up to five years in prison for each of the two counts. He served as White House counsel during Obama’s first year of his presidency and was a senior legal adviser to President Bill Clinton during his impeachment investigation.
