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How Democratic Insider Greg Craig Got Caught Up in the Russia Probe

Masood Farivar

   WASHINGTON - Greg Craig is an improbable figure in the national saga
   formerly known as the "Russia Investigation."

   While almost everyone caught in former special counsel Robert Mueller's
   cross-hairs --from Paul Manafort to Roger Stone --had close ties to
   President Donald Trump's orbit, Craig was a conspicuous outsider.

   The 74-year-old veteran Washington lawyer and Democratic insider served
   in prominent positions in the administrations of former Presidents Bill
   Clinton and Barack Obama before joining a white-shoe New York law firm
   in recent years.

   Declining fortunes

   Since then, Craig's fortunes have taken a hit. Now, the retired trial
   attorney is fighting a federal indictment that spun off the Russia
   probe and accuses him of lying to the Justice Department about his work
   for the government of Ukraine and his failure to register as a foreign
   agent.

   Taking the stand in federal court in Washington in his own defense,
   Craig, who once represented the likes of former vice presidential
   candidate John Edwards, rejected the allegation that he had misled the
   Justice Department unit responsible for enforcing the Foreign Agents
   Registration Act. "I did not withhold or conceal any information from
   the FARA Unit," he said.

   A verdict in the case is imminent.

   Craig crossed Mueller's radar as the special counsel was investigating
   Manafort's lobbying efforts on behalf of Viktor Yanukovych, whose 2010
   Ukrainian presidential victory Manafort had helped engineer.

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