US Prosecutors disclosed in a late Friday court filing that they are concerned for the safety of Maria Butina, the 30-year-old Russian who has agreed to cooperate with the Justice Department after admitting she failed to register as a foreign agent.
The 30-year-old gun-rights activist and former graduate student at American University networked so inventively and tirelessly in Washington that she aroused the suspicion of U.S. counterintelligence and was arrested in July. She found herself in the media spotlight as an unlikely femme fatale until prosecutors walked back one of the original accusations — that she’d been willing to trade sex for getting ahead in her influence operation.
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After spending five months in jail, Butina admitted having served as an agent of the Russian government without duly notifying the U.S. attorney general. -Bloomberg
The Friday filing was supposed to be sealed, however, it appeared briefly on the public court docket (1:18-cr-00218) for the case before it was quickly removed. In it, prosecutors discuss transporting Butina from jail to appear for interviews at US attorneys’ offices in Washington and Alexandria, VA, as well as before a federal grand jury in the capital – information prosecutors specifically did not want public.
“Once disclosed, such information could be used by individuals or entities who might seek to harm or intimidate the defendant to prevent her from continuing to cooperate with law enforcement,” the filing states.
Butina pleaded guilty on Thursday to a single count of conspiracy to defraud the US – admitting to being an unregistered Russian agent who attempted to infiltrate the GOP and National Rifle Association (NRA).
As we noted last week, Butina agreed to work with authorities who accused her of gathering intelligence on American officials as well as conservative political organizations. She has been in jail without bail since her arrest.
The American Butina worked with has been identified as Paul Erickson, a longtime GOP operative based in South Dakota with strong ties to the National Rifle Association and the Russian gun rights community. Erickson, who was in a romantic relationship with Butina, allegedly attempted to establish a backchannel between the NRA and Russian Government – while also reaching out to Trump campaign members Rick Dearborn and then-Senator Jeff Sessions in a 2016 email with the subject “Kremlin connection.” The email sought a meeting between then-candidate Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at an annual NRA convention.
The Trump campaign declined the invitation, however Butina allegedly worked with Erickson to try and arrange a meeting between Trump and her boss, former Russian central banker Alexander Torshin – who is believed to be her handler.
Following Butina’s arrest, the Russian embassy complained that Butina was being subjected to unwarranted strip searches and denial of proper medical care in an effort to “break her will.” Her defense attorney, Robert Driscoll, claims she has suffered health problems in jail and has been denied proper treatment.
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