The charges against Craig originally stemmed from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. He was also the only appointee of a Democratic administration to face charges from the investigation.
(MORE: The Russia probe: A timeline from Moscow to Mueller)
In 2012, Craig and his law firm — which at one point also employed President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort — worked on a public relations campaign for a report it authored independently for the Ukrainian government. Records also show that Craig, during the course of his work in Ukraine, shared certain clients with Manafort, who is serving jail time after being found guilty of eight counts of financial crimes as part of the first major prosecution won by Mueller’s office.
The government argued that Craig attempted to dodge registration requirements because registering “could prevent him … from taking positions in the federal government in the future,” among other reasons.
Craig’s indictment cited his 2012 work with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, on behalf of the Ukrainian government, which hired Craig to report on the prosecution of Yulia Tymoshenko, a former Ukrainian prime minister.
Much of the deliberation in the case surrounded if Craig had participated in any public relations work for the report, which would have mandated that he registered as a foreign agent. Although Craig did have contact with the media about the report, the prosecution’s arguments were not enough to convince the jury of Craig’s need to register.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
