Trial of ex-Obama White House counsel suddenly postponed

The trial of a former White House counsel in the Obama administration was postponed suddenly on Tuesday amid concerns about the jury selection process.

Politico first reported that U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who is overseeing the case, announced she may have violated Gregory Craig’s right to a public trial by limiting public access to jury selection.

Proceedings in the trial began Monday, with opening statements expected to take place Tuesday morning.{mosads}

Politico reported that Jackson thought the trial might have to be postponed to November to find another group to lead jury selection.

Politico noted that the process of selecting a new jury could be difficult — 70 jurors were called for Craig’s trial and Jackson said it was unclear how long it would take to assemble another group sufficient to handle jury selection.

Craig was indicted in April for allegedly making false statements to investigators and withholding information about work related to Paul Manafort’s lobbying in 2012 on behalf of pro-Russia politicians in Ukraine. He has pleaded not guilty.

Last week, Jackson dismissed the charge against Craig for making a false statement to the Department of Justice’s Foreign Agents Registration Act Unit.

Craig was reportedly investigated by now-former special counsel Robert Mueller before his case was referred to the Southern District of New York and then back to federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C. He was the first known major Democratic figure to be charged in one of the probes stemming from Mueller’s investigation.