The Latest: Ex-Obama WH aide denies guilt in lobbying case
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on court appearances of two political consultants in foreign lobbying cases that grew out of the Russia probe (all times local):
1:50 p.m.
Former Obama White House counsel Greg Craig has pleaded not guilty to charges of making false statements and concealing information in a federal foreign lobbying investigation spun off from the Russia probe.
Craig entered the plea Friday in federal court in Washington a day after he was accused of hiding the details of his work for the Ukrainian government from the Justice Department.
The 74-year-old denies the charges and says the prosecution against him is “unprecedented and unjustified.”
The case intersected with special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe because former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was involved in the financing of a report Craig authored for the Ukrainian government. The document sought to legitimize the prosecution of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
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10:49 a.m.
A Washington political consultant initially entangled in the Russia investigation was sentenced to three years of probation for illegal lobbying and skirting the ban on foreign donations to President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee.
W. Samuel Patten and prosecutors had asked for leniency citing his cooperation in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation and other ongoing probes.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson imposed the sentence Friday as Mueller has concluded his investigation but federal prosecutors in New York continue to investigate foreign donations to the inaugural committee.
Patten has said he wasn’t part of a larger scheme to funnel money to the committee.
He pleaded guilty to violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act for lobbying on behalf of a Ukrainian political party. He also lied to the Senate intelligence committee.
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