The man Donald Trump hired to write The Art of the Deal noted that although the newly-indicted Obama White House counsel Greg Craig may have been from a previous administration, his "grift" — which included Paul Manafort — flourished under the current president.
Trump ghostwriter Tony Schwartz remarked in a Thursday conversation with MSNBC's Ari Melber and fellow analyst Maya Wiley that the president "created a world where being a grifter is an acceptable, actually even an honorable profession these days."
In a case stemming from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, Craig was charged with making false statements to the Justice Department about whether Skadden Arps, his law firm, operated as foreign agents for the Ukrainian government.
The case was an offshoot of Mueller's charges against Manafort, who worked extensively for former Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovich.
"In 2012, Manafort helped Ukraine’s government retain Skadden to write a report evaluating the prosecution of Yanukovych’s political rival, Yulia Tymoshenko," Vox reported earlier in the day. "Craig was the lead partner in that project."
"The risk to the law when you have someone assaulting it from every side every day, I don't think it's ever been as high as it is," Schwartz said, referencing Trump.
"It's scary," the ghostwriter added. "This is what Trump does to people. He brings them down to his level."
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