Greg Craig, a lawyer who worked in the White House under former US President Barack Obama, was charged on Thursday in a lobbying investigation tied to special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe.

Craig is the first person with strong ties to the Democrats to face charges in the Mueller investigation, which has led to the indictment of numerous key allies of current US President Donald Trump.

What we know about the case:

Craig is charged with making false statements and concealing information from the Justice Department about his alleged lobbying work.

The case centers on a 2012 report Craig wrote to justify the prosecution of a political enemy of the Russia-aligned Ukrainian government at the time.

The international law firm that Craig worked at produced the report at the behest of Paul Manafort, the former chairman of Trump's presidential campaign.

Craig is accused of avoiding registering as a foreign agent and that he sought to hide the money he received for his work with Ukraine.

He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and fines totaling $260,000 (€230,900).

A timeline of the Russia investigation 2013: Mr. Trump goes to Russia June 18, 2013. Donald Trump tweeted: "The Miss Universe Pageant will be broadcast live from MOSCOW, RUSSIA on November 9. A big deal that will bring our countries together!" He later added: "Do you think Putin will be going - if so, will he become my new best friend?" October 17, 2013 Trump tells chat show host David Letterman he has conducted "a lot of business with the Russians."

A timeline of the Russia investigation September 2015: Hacking allegations raised An FBI agent tells a tech-support contractor at the Democratic National Committee it may have been hacked. On May 18, 2016, James Clapper, the director of National Intelligence, says there were "some indications" of cyberattacks aimed at the presidential campaigns. On June 14, 2016 the DNC announces it had been the victim of an attack by Russian hackers.

A timeline of the Russia investigation July 20, 2016: Kislyak enters the picture Senator Jeff Sessions — an early Trump endorser who led his national security advisory committee — meets Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and a group of other ambassadors at a Republican National Convention event.

A timeline of the Russia investigation July 22, 2016: Assange thickens the plot Julian Assange's WikiLeaks publishes 20,000 emails stolen from the DNC, appearing to show a preference for Hillary Clinton over Senator Bernie Sanders.

A timeline of the Russia investigation July 25, 2016: Cometh the hour, Comey the man The FBI announces it is investigating the DNC hack saying "a compromise of this nature is something we take very seriously."

A timeline of the Russia investigation November 8, 2016: Trump elected Donald Trump is elected president of the United States. On November 9, the Russian parliament burst into applause at the news.

A timeline of the Russia investigation November 10, 2016: Team Trump denies Russia link Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Rybakov says there "were contacts" between the Russian government and the Trump campaign during the election campaign. The Trump campaign issues a firm denial.

A timeline of the Russia investigation November 18, 2016: Flynn appointed Trump names General Michael Flynn as his national security adviser. The former Defense Intelligence Agency chief was a top foreign policy adviser in Trump's campaign. Flynn resigned in February after failing to disclose full details of his communication with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

A timeline of the Russia investigation January 26, 2017: Yates - 'The center cannot hold' Acting Attorney General Sally Yates tells White House counsel Don McGahn that Flynn made false statements regarding his calls with Kislyak. On January 30, Trump fires Yates for refusing to enforce his travel ban, which was later blocked by federal courts.

A timeline of the Russia investigation March 2, 2017: Sessions recuses himself Trump says he has "total confidence" in Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Sessions announces he will recuse himself from any investigation into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign.

A timeline of the Russia investigation March 20, 2017: FBI examines Trump-Kremlin links FBI Director James Comey confirms before the House Select Committee on Intelligence that the FBI was investigating possible links between Russia and the Trump campaign.

A timeline of the Russia investigation May 9, 2017: Trump sacks Comey In a letter announcing the termination, Trump writes: "While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the judgment of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the Bureau."

A timeline of the Russia investigation May 17, 2017: Mueller appointed special counsel Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appoints former FBI Director Robert Mueller to look into Russia's interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.

A timeline of the Russia investigation August 2017: FBI seizes documents from Manafort Shortly after Mueller convenes a grand jury for the investigation, the FBI seizes documents from one of Paul Manafort's properties as part of a raid for Mueller's probe. The former Trump campaigner manager stepped down in August 2016 after allegations surfaced that he had received large payments linked to Ukraine's former pro-Russian government.

A timeline of the Russia investigation September 2017: Trump Jr.'s talks to Senate committee Donald Trump Jr. tells the Senate Judiciary Committee he has not colluded with a foreign government. The closed-door interview relates to his June 2016 meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, which was also attended by his brother-in-law, Jared Kushner, and then-campaign manager Paul Manafort. Trump Jr.’s emails, however, suggest the meeting was supposed to produce dirt on Clinton.

A timeline of the Russia investigation October 2017: Internet giants allege Russian interference Facebook, Twitter and Google reportedly tell US media they have evidence that Russian operatives exploited platforms to spread disinformation during the 2016 US presidential election. The three companies are appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee in November 2017.

A timeline of the Russia investigation July 2018: Trump and Putin meet in Helsinki Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet in Helsinki for their first-ever summit. During the trip, Trump publically contradicts the findings of US intelligence agencies who concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election.

A timeline of the Russia investigation November 8, 2018: Sessions resigns as attorney general Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigns from his post, under reported pressure from Trump. The president then appoints a critic of the Mueller probe as his successor, but later nominates William Barr to be the next attorney general in December 2018.

A timeline of the Russia investigation November 29, 2018: Former Trump lawyer pleads guilty Trump's former long-time personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleads guilty to lying to Congress about discussions in 2016 on plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. The FBI raided his home earlier that year in April. He would later be sentenced to three years in prison. In 2019, he tells Congress that Trump is a "racist" and a "con man."

A timeline of the Russia investigation January 2019: Trump associate Roger Stone arrested Roger Stone, a longtime Trump associate and Republican operative, is arrested at his home in Florida for lying to Congress about having advance knowledge of plans by WikiLeaks to release emails from the Democratic Party that US officials say were stolen by Russia.

A timeline of the Russia investigation March 13, 2019: Manafort sentenced to prison Manafort is found guilty of conspiracy charges and handed an additional sentence, bringing his total prison sentence to 7.5 years. In August 2018, a court in Virginia found him guilty of eight charges, including tax and bank fraud. He also pleaded guilty to two conspiracy counts.

A timeline of the Russia investigation March 22, 2019: Mueller ends Russia probe Special counsel Robert Mueller submits a confidential 448-page report on the findings of his investigation to the US Justice Department. The main conclusions of the report are made public when they are given to Congress. A redacted version of the report is released to the public on April 18, though Democrats call for the full report to be released.

A timeline of the Russia investigation March 24, 2019: Trump declares 'exoneration' The final report concluded that no one involved in Trump's 2016 election campaign colluded with Russia. Attorney General William Barr said the report provided no evidence that Trump obstructed justice, but stopped short of fully exonerating the president. Reacting to the findings, Trump described the probe as an "illegal take-down that failed," and said there was "complete and total exoneration."

A timeline of the Russia investigation May 1, 2019: Barr testifies In late March, Mueller writes a letter expressing concerns over the way Barr portrayed his report. The attorney general says the special counsel's letter was "a bit snitty" while testifying in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee in May. Barr then cancels a subsequent appearance before the House Judicial Committee, citing "unprecedented and unnecessary" hearing conditions.

A timeline of the Russia investigation July 24, 2019: Mueller light Robert Mueller's congressional testimony on the Russia probe was again inconclusive. He sometimes struggled with his answers or avoided queries. To the Democrats frustration he appeared to do little to give any encouragement to the notion that President Trump could be impeached, though he did suggest he might be prosecuted for obstruction of justice crimes after he leaves the White House. Author: Rebecca Staudenmaier, Jo Harper, Kathleen Schuster, John Silk



Lawyers dispute charges

Craig's legal team have rejected the charges, saying that the work their client did for the Ukrainian government did not qualify as foreign lobbying and that he acted as "an independent expert on the rule of law."

The Justice Department unit investigating Craig is responsible for enforcing a US law requiring people to disclose work they do for foreign governments.

"Mr. Craig is not guilty of any charge and the government's stubborn insistence on prosecuting Mr. Craig is a misguided abuse of prosecutorial discretion," his lawyers said in a statement.

Who is Greg Craig?

The 74-year-old lawyer is a prominent Washington attorney who served as a top White House counsel to Obama. He also led former President Bill Clinton's legal team during his impeachment proceedings and defended Clinton during his Senate trial.

Craig's private practice has included numerous prominent Democrats, including former vice presidential candidate John Edwards. After leaving the White House in 2012, he became a senior partner at the international law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

Read more: Russia sees 'chance to reset US relations' after Mueller probe

Dozens indicted in Russia probe

Thursday's case stems from Mueller's 22-month-long investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and whether Trump's campaign colluded with Moscow.

Some 34 people have been indicted in the probe, including former Trump allies and Russian agents. Manafort is currently serving a 7.5-year prison sentence for financial crimes and lobbying violations.

After reviewing Mueller's report, Attorney General William Barr said that the probe did not find enough evidence to charge Trump or others with conspiracy or obstruction of justice. Barr is expected to release a redacted version of the report next week.

rs/aw (AP, dpa, Reuters)

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