News

Actions

Ex-White House counsel accused of lying about lobbying work

Posted at 2:21 PM, Apr 11, 2019
and last updated 2019-04-11 16:21:07-04
GREG CRAIG
Greg Craig, former White House Counsel under President Obama. (CNN)

WASHINGTON (AP) – Prosecutors say Obama administration White House counsel Greg Craig has been indicted on charges of making false statements and concealing information about foreign lobbying.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Washington says Thursday that the 74-year-old Craig is charged in a two-count indictment. He’s accused of willfully concealing material facts from the Justice Department.

The scrutiny of Craig stems from an investigation of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his work on behalf of a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine.

The charges come about three months after Craig’s former law firm agreed to pay more than $4.6 million and publicly acknowledge that it failed to report its work for the Ukrainian government.

Anticipating charges, Craig’s lawyers on Wednesday said the “government’s stubborn insistence on prosecuting Mr. Craig is a misguided abuse of prosecutorial discretion.”