Greg Craig took the stand in his own defense Wednesday as his criminal trial neared its end in Washington federal court, where the venerated lawyer and former Obama White House counsel denied he deliberately deceived the Justice Department about his past work for Ukraine.

Craig’s high-stakes testimony marked the climax of a criminal trial that has gripped the legal community and cast a pall on his onetime law firm, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. The trial has dredged up behind-the-scenes details of a project Skadden took on for Ukraine in 2012 that has come to bedevil Craig and his former law firm.