Alleged Russian agent Maria Butina had ties to Russian intelligence agency, prosecutors say
Source: The Washington Post
By Tom Jackman
July 18 at 11:11 AM
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 masters 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 Ill tell you what, Trump told Butina, we get along with Putin...I dont 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
Dave Starsky
(5,914 posts)Malcolm Nance talks all about her in his latest book. I had to Google her, because I'd never heard of her and couldn't believe what I was reading. It's pretty obvious that she's more than just a "foreign agent".
sandensea
(21,526 posts)Life imitates art again.
turbinetree
(24,631 posts)3 million from the NRA)..................
Sneederbunk
(14,207 posts)Last edited Wed Jul 18, 2018, 12:19 PM - Edit history (1)
rainin
(3,010 posts)emulatorloo
(43,979 posts)TexasTowelie
(111,283 posts)Russian national and gun-rights advocate Mariia Butina traded sex for a position in a special-interest organization, according to U.S. prosecutors who asked a judge to keep her in jail before trial because of her ties to Russian intelligence services.
Butina, 29, faces federal charges that she illegally conspired to establish a back channel between Russians and American politicians during the last election cycle and operated as an unregistered agent of the Russian Federation in the U.S. Shes scheduled to appear in Washington federal court later Wednesday.
"Because Butina has been exposed as an illegal agent of Russia, there is the grave risk that she will appeal to those within that government with whom she conspired to aid her escape from the United States," prosecutors said in a court filing Wednesday. Butina presents an extreme flight risk.
-snip-
Butina used a U.S. citizen, who isnt named by prosecutors but matches the description of political operative Paul Erickson, to gain access to an extensive network of Americans in position to influence political activities in the country, prosecutors said. She lived with the 56-year-old man, but appeared to treat it as simply a necessary aspect of her activities, the U.S. said.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-18/u-s-asks-federal-judge-to-hold-butina-in-jail-before-trial
LastLiberal in PalmSprings
(12,536 posts)I guess ongoing surveillance and a search warrant don't matter in Trumpworld.
She's also continuing to blame Obama for the possibility of a Russian attack on the mid-term elections, which her boss says isn't happening despite what his intelligence people tell him.
This is such a Looking Glass that even Alice wouldn't go through it.