WASHINGTON, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Greg Craig, former White House counsel for President Barack Obama, on Friday pleaded not guilty to charges of making false statements and concealing material information in a federal foreign lobbying case.

Craig, 74, appeared in a federal court in Washington and was released on personal recognizance. He was charged on Thursday for allegedly making false statements and concealing material facts about his activities on behalf of Ukraine from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Craig has denied the charges and said his prosecution was "unprecedented and unjustified."

The charges against Craig stemmed from special counsel Robert Mueller's inquiry into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow.

Craig allegedly lied to the special counsel's team during an interview last year about legal work that he did for the Ukrainian government in 2012 after leaving the White House to join Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, a New York-based law firm.

Craig resigned from the law firm in April 2018 amid an investigation into whether it failed to register as foreign lobbyists.

He served as the White House counsel in the Obama White House from 2009 to 2010.

Incumbent President Donald Trump tweeted about Craig's indictment Friday morning, calling it a "really big story." Enditem

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