Ex-Obama Counsel Craig Found Not Guilty Of Deceiving DOJ Over Work For Ukraine - Reports

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th September, 2019) Former Obama-era White House Counsel Greg Craig was found not guilty on a charge he faced for lying to Federal investigators about his previous work for the government of Ukraine, media reported on Wednesday.

Craig was found not guilty on a charge of hiding his previous work for the Ukrainian government from the Department of Justice (DOJ), CNN reported. He faced a sentence of up to five years in prison if found guilty.

Craig's law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom received a $4 million contract from the Ukrainian government to craft an independent assessment of the trial of Ukrainian politician Yulia Tymoshenko, who was as opponent of then Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.

Craig and his defense lawyers argued that he had not been working at the direction of the Ukrainian government when he spoke to journalists about the matter nor was part of a coordinated plan to spin coverage of the Ukrainian party in power, the report said.

On January 17, the DOJ announced that Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom agreed to pay a $4.6-million penalty for failing to register as a foreign agent for work it did on behalf of the Ukrainian government.