Obama White House counsel may be indicted for alleged Ukrainian lobbying

By: Ben F.

Lawyers for former Obama administration White House counsel Greg Craig say he is expected to be indicted for making false statements to the Justice Department about alleged foreign lobbying on behalf of Ukraine, a report said Wednesday.

The possible charges against Craig stem from Ukraine hiring him and his former law firm in 2012 to publicize the corruption trial of the former Ukrainian prime minister, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The apparent lobbying work was done after Craig’s tenure as White House counsel, according to the report.

Craig spoke to several reporters about the corruption trial, sparking questions as to whether he was lobbying on behalf of a foreign government, according to the report.

Craig’s pending indictment is related to whether or not he made false statements to the Justice Department about when those conversations with reporters took place, according to the report.

Craig claims he did not bill his client for the time he spoke to reporters, suggesting he did so personally, not on behalf of a foreign country.

The case stems from the Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation and was later passed to prosecutors in the Southern District of New York and to US prosecutors in Washington, DC.

In a statement to the Journal, Craig’s lawyers said the case has been investigated and should be put to rest.

“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 DC US 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,” lawyers for Craig, who were not identified, said in the statement.