Greg Craig, who served as White House counsel for the first year of former President Barack Obama's first term, believes he will be indicted in regard to work he did for Ukraine several years ago.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the Justice Department has kept Craig on its radar since 2012, the year he performed work for former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko — who was on trial for abuse-of-power. Craig worked for the government of Ukraine through the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.
The firm produced a report on Tymoshenko's trial and Craig followed by promoting it to several journalists, including someone from The New York Times. He did not register as a foreign agent, which was the subject of the DOJ's inquiries that began in 2012.
On the heels of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort's trials that included charges of lobbying for a foreign country without registering as a foreign agent, the DOJ will likely indict Craig on making false statements to federal agents and possibly other charges. The indictment could land as soon as Thursday, according to the Journal.
Craig refused to accept a plea deal offered to him.
"This case was thoroughly investigated by the SDNY and that office decided not to pursue charges against Mr. Craig," Craig's lawyers said in a statement. "We expect an indictment by the DC 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."
Craig went to Yale Law School and was a classmate of former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham. He worked for Clinton from 1998-1999 to help defend him during impeachment proceedings.