Federal prosecutors weighing charges against former Obama WH counsel: report

Federal prosecutors in New York are considering criminal charges against Greg Craig, a former Obama White House counsel, as part of a investigation into whether he failed to register as a foreign agent, sources told CNN on Friday.

The charges are linked to a probe into Paul Manafort, the former campaign chairman to President Trump, CNN reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Manafort on Friday pleaded guilty to two federal charges in a deal that includes cooperation with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

{mosads}An attorney for Craig told CNN that his client “was not required to register under the Foreign Agent Registration Act.”

Craig was not immediately reachable by The Hill.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York is also considering action against law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, where Craig was a partner during the period under examination, CNN reported.

The investigations into Craig and the law firm were transferred to federal prosecutors in New York by Mueller. 

They stem from charges that Manafort in 2012 “solicited” a law firm on behalf of the then-president of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, and Ukraine’s Ministry of Justice.

CNN reported the firm was Skadden, citing the people familiar with the matter, which was hired to write a report on the trial of Yulia Tymoshenko, who served as prime minister of Ukraine and was a rival of Yanukovych.

A spokeswoman for Skadden didn’t respond to a request for comment from CNN. The law firm did not immediately reply to a request for comment from The Hill.