I was privileged to be one of the lawyers who defended Gregory Craig in his recent trial and acquittal. He was entirely innocent, as the jury quickly decided. In most cases, lawyers in my position would thank the jury for doing the right thing and move on. But this misguided and unnecessary prosecution deserves more scrutiny than it has received. It raises profound concerns about the judgment and motivation of officials at the U.S. Department of Justice who insisted that Craig be indicted.

The decision to indict in this case was not an evenhanded exercise of prosecutorial discretion. It was rather an exercise of prosecutorial power in furtherance of another goal.