Former White House Counsel for President Obama Greg Craig was in court to enter his plea as the dominoes start to fall against Obama officials.
He appeared in court on Friday to enter his plea and, to no surprise, he pleaded not guilty to charges of working for the Ukraine government, Fox News Sheppard Smith reported.
SMITH: “And another Fox urgent now. President Obama’s former White House counsel has pleaded not guilty after a grand jury indicted him for lying to the special Counsel Robert Mueller’s prosecutors.
Folks there say Greg Craig misled Mueller’s team and the Justice Department about lobbying work that he did for Ukraine back in the year 2012.
Greg Craig recorded a video statement saying he was always honest with investigators.”
[Clip starts]
CRAIG: “I certainly did not lobby any U.S. officials on behalf of Ukraine. I did not participate in a scheme to mislead the government or conceal material facts. This prosecution is unprecedented and unjustified.”
Is Trump going to get his revenge?
[Clip ends]
SMITH: “Mueller’s team apparently uncovered possible wrongdoing by Craig while they were investigating the former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s lobbying work for Ukraine.
Let’s get to the chief intelligence correspondent Catherine Herridge. She’s reporting from the Justice Department. Catherine?”
HERRIDGE: “Thanks, Shep. Greg Craig’s lawyers make the argument that he was singled out. They accuse the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney here in Washington of prosecutorial overreach.
And we have a little bit more of Greg Craig’s statement on social media where he seems to indicate that he feels he’s a victim of a selective prosecution.”
[Clip starts]
CRAIG: “At the very start, we researched the requirements for registration under FARA, and we concluded that the law firm did not need to register. I never discussed the findings of our report with any U.S. officials.”
[Clip ends]
HERRIDGE: “Greg Craig was in the district court just a few blocks from where I’m standing right now a short time ago where he entered a plea of not guilty and he was also processed by the U.S. Marshals and he was freed on his own — procedural hearing now scheduled for next week.
These charges relate to the what he called FARA, that’s the Foreign Agents Registration Act. This is an act that requires American citizens to register with the Justice Department about their lobbying work on behalf of foreign nations or politicians.
Greg Craig’s case grew out of the investigation of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, because both men were doing business for a Ukrainian politician who has close ties to Vladimir Putin.
What is worth noting is that Greg Craig will have his case heard by the same judge, Amy Berman Jackson, here in Washington, that also handled the prosecution of Paul Manafort, so a lot of people will be watching to see whether these cases are treated fairly and equally, or whether there’s disparate treatment in this prosecution, Shep.”
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