Ex-Skadden Lawyer Wins Dismissal of Charge in Setback to U.S.

(Bloomberg) -- Former Skadden partner Gregory Craig won a dismissal of one of two criminal counts in a case accusing him of failing to register as a foreign agent, a boost just days before his trial is set to begin.

The ruling may complicate the government’s case against Craig, who is accused of violating the Foreign Agent Registration Act by not registering as an agent of the Ukrainian government for work he did in 2012 for Paul Manafort, who later became Donald Trump’s campaign chair. The case grew out of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

U.S. District Amy Berman Jackson on Tuesday denied Craig’s request to throw out the failure-to-register count but granted his motion to dismiss a claim that he made false statements in a letter to the government in 2013.

Craig also served as White House counsel in the early days of the Obama administration. His trial is scheduled for Aug. 12.

To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Farrell in New York at gregfarrell@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.