A Russian national who built a network of political contacts via the US gun rights lobby on Thursday admitted to acting as an illegal foreign agent, although no evidence was presented that she worked for any of Moscow’s espionage agencies.
Maria Butina — the first Russian convicted in cases arising from Moscow’s alleged interference in the 2016 US presidential election — faces up to six months in prison, followed by likely deportation.
Prosecutors said she launched a plan in March 2015 to develop ties with the Republican Party with the aim of influencing US foreign policy.
Photo: AP
She worked with her boyfriend, Republican operative and National Rifle Association (NRA) insider Paul Erickson, to pursue the plan, they said.
The plot was guided and financed in part by Alexander Torshin, who was deputy governor of the Russian central bank until his retirement on Nov. 30.
At Torshin’s direction and with Erickson’s assistance, prosecutors said Butina “sought to establish unofficial lines of communications with Americans who having power and influence over US politics.”
“Butina sought to use those unofficial lines of communication for the benefit of the Russian Federation,” they said.
Butina’s case was a spinoff from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into alleged meddling in the 2016 election and possible collusion by the campaign of then-US presidential candidate Donald Trump with Russians.
She started by setting up her own Russian gun rights organization, supported by Torshin, and then making contact with the NRA, prosecutors said.
In April 2015 she joined the NRA national convention where she had her photograph taken with prominent Republicans and was introduced to an unidentified Republican presidential candidate.
She is to remain in US custody until her sentencing in February at the earliest.
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