>General James Cartwright
WASHINGTON — President Obama on Tuesday pardoned James E. Cartwright, a retired Marine Corps general and former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who pleaded guilty to lying to the F.B.I. about his discussions with reporters about Iran’s nuclear program, saving him from a possible prison sentence.
General Cartwright, who was a key member of Mr. Obama’s national security team in his first term and earned a reputation as the president’s favorite general, pleaded guilty late last year to misleading investigators looking into the leaking of classified information about cyberattacks against Iran.
He was due to be sentenced this month. His defense team had asked for a year of probation and 600 hours of community service, but prosecutors had asked the judge overseeing his case to send him to prison for two years.
Now, the retired general will be spared such punishment.
Both General Cartwright and his lawyer, Gregory Craig, a former White House counsel to Mr. Obama, thanked the president in statements.
https:// www.nytimes.com/2017/01/17/us/politics/obama-pardons-james-cartwright-general-who-lied-to-fbi-in-leak-case.html
n 1996, Craig was offered the post of White House Counsel by Bill Clinton, but Craig declined.[15] Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright appointed Craig to the post of director of policy planning at the State Department in 1997.[1][6] Craig served in that post from June 1997 to 1998.[6][14] As policy planning director, Craig served as a senior advisor to Albright[14] and led the State Department's internal think tank.[13] In October 1997, Albright gave Craig the additional post of special coordinator for Tibetan affairs, in order "to focus attention on China's suppression of Tibet's cultural and religious traditions."[14]
Craig worked in the White House during the Clinton administration from 1998 to 1999, holding the title of assistant to the President and special counsel.[6] Craig's old friend and law partner Kendall was Clinton's personal attorney.[8] Craig was brought on specifically to coordinate the White House's defense of Clinton during impeachment proceedings against him. Termed the "quarterback" by Clinton, Craig worked from the West Wing and oversaw legal, political, congressional, and public relations aspects of the defense, reporting regularly to President Clinton and consulting with John Podesta, the White House chief of staff.[8]
uring the Elián González affair in 2000, Craig represented Juan Miguel Gonzáles, the Cuban father of six-year-old Elián González
Other high-profile clients represented by Craig while at Williams & Connolly include Richard Helms, the ex-director of Central Intelligence who was convicted of lying to Congress over the CIA's role in removing Salvador Allende; UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan; and Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega.[13]
Craig met Barack and Michelle Obama for the first time in 2003, at the home of Vernon Jordan,
In 1981, Craig was a member of the team that represented John W. Hinckley, Jr.,
Craig attended Yale Law School, where he was a member of the same class as Bill Clinton, Hillary Rodham, and David E. Kendall