A jury on Wednesday acquitted former White House Counsel Greg Craig of a charge that he lied to Justice Department investigators who were probing his connections to foreign lobbying work.
So NY decided there was no case, but DC persisted. Hmm.
Grand jury indictment released in April. Barr started in February. Hmm.
Iâm glad that Craig was acquitted, but this leaves me a bit tentative about looking forward to future trials initiated by the Mueller investigation. In that regard, i really hope this is not a sign of things to come.
I wonder if this was âjury nullificationâ because Craig is a popular fellow? I wonder if people thought somebody just decided to âindict the Demâ and that was the rationale.
This is a curious case.
If one had an overly suspicious mind, one might wonder if this case had been brought to trial knowing it would be a losing effort and then one would not be at all surprised if the acquittal were frequently pointed out and used as if it also acquitted the President? No collusion, no obstruction, no lyingâŚ
Sounds like this was an opportunistic prosecution by the Barr DOJ of a Democratic appointee based loosely on information from Mueller. I think maybe this was a win for true justice.
With a few exceptions ( Blagojevich, Jefferson) Democrats who are liberal/progressive do not generally cheat or break the law. This stems from lack of the Republican Authoritarian mindset (spot on Mr. Dean) and a genuine desire to play by the rules. It is best summed up a quote from J.K. Galbraith:
The modern conservative is engaged in one of manâs oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.
So yes it does not surprise me that Mr. Craig walked.
This is, hands-down, the best written article on TPM today. Thank you!
I think that this case was brought either as pay back byTrump people in the DC USA office âgetting a democratâ to show they are corrupt too, or in an effort by someone (misguided) to show that Moellerâs investigation was non partisan, and Craig was the only one with a D after his name that was caught up in Moellerâs probe.
Either way, it was a ridiculously weak case, and the Jury got it right.
Bottom line: Obama administration still scandal-free.
Prosecutors often disagree about the strength, or even the merits, of a case. Need to know more to justify a Hmm.
Leave persisted out of this. Thatâs to apply to candidate, and, one hopes, President Warren.
Blago was neither liberal or progressive. Blago was minor league tRump.
ETA. He was impeached by a Democratic legislature.
Canât be said enough.
It also illustrates how ridiculous all the âscandalsâ that the GOP kept yelling about during the Obama administration really were.
Where is Greg Craig âa popular fellow?â Among which demographic? What are the reasons for his popularity? In which fanzines does he appear with regularity? Inquiring minds want to know.
Another Skadden attorney was prosecuted in this case. He was a Swiss or Belgian attorney married to the daughter of a Russian kleptocrat banker. The Skadden attorney plead guilty, forfeited his US Law License and possibly any others he held in foreign countries. So, I think this fact is overlooked generally, certainly in this article, and would tend to disprove the theory that this was the selective Politically Motivated prosecution of a Purity Democrat by the Barr DOJ. I think the investigation into Craig predated Barr or Whitaker as AG.
From the article:
According to a CNN report, Mueller initially referred the case to federal prosecutors in Manhattan, who concluded there was insufficient evidence to bring charges. Prosecutors in D.C. then took over the case, CNN reported, and unveiled the two-count grand jury indictment in April.
They had trouble seating a jury for TWO DAYS because everybody in the jury pool knew him, worked with him, had worked against him in trials, or belonged to social organizations with him.
He may not be âpopularâ in the sense people LIKE him (I have no idea of his personality) but it seemed a LOT of people have had dealings with him and that made them incapable of being on his jury.
He âcouldâ be SUCH an a-hole that everybody could say they were prejudiced against him.
He âcouldâ be SUCH an a-hole that everybody could say they were prejudiced against him.
Thanks for making me laugh.
I only know his name because he was involved in the Elian Gonzalez Show the Cuban Exile Community mounted in Miami. Crag was a Deputy to AG Janet Reno and I remember Donato Dalrymple babbling and ranting about Greg Craig. Otherwise, I would not know him. But your last sentence is a good theory.
Anyway, Skadden was involved and one of their associates, who was probably on his way to making partner, got convicted on a guilty plea. Not sure if for authoring the same Report as Craig was accused of authoring.
Thanks for clarifying and providing knowledgeable insight.