Alleged Russian agent Maria Butina had ties to Russian intelligence agency, prosecutors say
Source: Washington Post
The Russian woman arrested on charges of being a foreign agent had ties to Russian intelligence operatives and was in contact with them while in the United States, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. Maria Butina also had ties to wealthy businessmen linked to the Putin administration and appeared to have plans to flee the U.S., prosecutors said in a new court filing.
Butina, 29, was initially arrested on a criminal complaint on Sunday, federal authorities indicted her Tuesday on charges of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government and failing to register as an agent of a foreign government. She is scheduled for a detention hearing Wednesday afternoon on whether to release her from jail before trial, and prosecutors filed a motion this morning outlining why she should be held without bond.
Butina entered the country on a student visa in August 2016, and her lawyer said Monday that she had recently earned a master's degree from American University in international relations. But she had been in the United States multiple times before that, and even questioned then-candidate Donald Trump in July 2015 at a public forum, asking him what his policies would be toward Russia.
"I know Putin and I'll tell you what," Trump told Butina, "we get along with Putin...I don't think you need the [economic] sanctions" imposed on Russia after its annexation of Crimea.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/alleged-russian-agent-maria-butina-had-ties-to-russian-intelligence-agency-prosecutors-say/2018/07/18/a1a4042c-8a01-11e8-a345-a1bf7847b375_story.html
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