Obama White House Counsel Gregory Craig acquitted on charges of lying to Mueller's team
Former White House Counsel Gregory Craig is in the clear.
Craig was found not guilty Wednesday on a felony charge of lying to the Justice Department about his work with the Ukrainian government. It marked the end of another case that stemmed from former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, and one of several DOJ crackdowns on foreign influence within the federal government.
Craig served as White House counsel during former President Barack Obama's first year in office, and then joined President Trump's ex-campaign chair Paul Manafort in 2012 on lobbying work for the Ukrainian government. Manafort pleaded guilty to charges relating to his lobbying work last September, but Craig wasn't similarly charged with failing to register as a foreign agent. He was accused of misleading the DOJ when it was investigating his work with Ukraine, presumably to avoid having to register as a foreign agent, per NBC News.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The jury on Wednesday delivered Craig's not guilty verdict in just four hours, acquitting him of his felony charge. Still, his trial painted a colorful picture of how former government officials and other Washington, D.C. elites can turn massive profits from ethically questionable relationships with foreign governments.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Political cartoons for November 15Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include cowardly congressmen, a Macy's parade monster, and more
-
Massacre in the favela: Rio’s police take on the gangsIn the Spotlight The ‘defence operation’ killed 132 suspected gang members, but could spark ‘more hatred and revenge’
-
The John Lewis ad: touching, or just weird?Talking Point This year’s festive offering is full of 1990s nostalgia – but are hedonistic raves really the spirit of Christmas?
-
Trump DOJ sues to block California redistrictingSpeed Read California’s new congressional map was drawn by Democrats to flip Republican-held House seats
-
GOP retreats from shutdown deal payout provisionSpeed Read Senators are distancing themselves from a controversial provision in the new government funding package
-
Catholic bishops rebuke Trump on immigrationSpeed Read ‘We feel compelled’ to ‘raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity,’ the bishops said
-
House releases Epstein emails referencing TrumpSpeed Read The emails suggest Trump knew more about Epstein’s sex trafficking of underage women than he has claimed
-
Newsom slams Trump’s climate denial at COP30speed read Trump, who has called climate change a ‘hoax,’ declined to send any officials to this week’s summit
-
UK, Colombia halt intel to US over boat attacksSpeed Read Both countries have suspended intelligence sharing with the US over the bombing of civilian boats suspected of drug smuggling
-
Trump pardons 2020 fake electors, other GOP alliesSpeed Read The president pardoned Rudy Giuliani and more who tried to overturn his 2020 election loss
-
Supreme Court to decide on mail-in ballot limitsSpeed Read The court will determine whether states can count mail-in ballots received after Election Day
