Maria Butina has changed her plea to guilty. By this time we all know the story of the young Russian woman who claimed to be a “gun-rights activist” and worked her way into the NRA and the Republican Party. She is now guilty of conspiracy and acting as an unregistered agent on behalf of the Russian government. From Axios:
“In a copy of the plea deal obtained earlier this week by ABC News, Butina admitted that she and her American boyfriend — Republican operative Paul Erickson — agreed and conspired with a Russian government official to seek to “establish unofficial lines of communication with Americans having power and influence over U.S. politics.” One of the ways Butina allegedly developed relationships with American politicians was through her involvement with the NRA.”
The Washington Post reports she is the “first Russian national convicted of seeking to influence U.S. policy around time of 2016 election.”
“Butina said she acted ‘under direction of’ a Russian official. ‘Butina sought to establish unofficial lines of communication with Americans having power and influence over US politics,’ prosecutor said in court” https://t.co/Jx6B0kelCc
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) December 13, 2018
BREAKING: Maria Butina, a Russian gun rights activist who became enmeshed in Republican politics during the 2016 election, has pleaded guilty to engaging in a conspiracy against the United States. https://t.co/gmNTs4Mz6K
— HuffPost (@HuffPost) December 13, 2018
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said neither he nor his intelligence services know of Butina.
Putin on Butina: "She's facing 15 years in prison. For what? When I heard that something was happening to her […] I started by asking all our secret service chiefs: who is she? Nobody knew anything about her!"pic.twitter.com/b9k9N9umZG
— max seddon (@maxseddon) December 11, 2018
But Butina worked with Alexander Torshin, a Russian billionaire and Putin ally.
Maria Butina just admitted in court she engaged in conspiracy against the United States at the direction of Putin ally Alexander Torshin. Torshin spent years hanging out with top NRA leaders—including at NRA fundraisers, as we just reported https://t.co/MUXZBYSKd5 #FollowTheMoney
— Mark Follman (@markfollman) December 13, 2018