Russian agent Maria Butina sentenced to 18 months in prison

[Rogue Valley]

Russian agent Maria Butina sentenced to 18 months in prison on conspiracy charge

Russian spy Mariya Butina.

4/26/19
A federal judge sentenced Russia national Maria Butina to 18 months in prison on Friday, after she pleaded guilty to trying to infiltrate conservative political circles and promote Russian interests before and after the 2016 presidential election. She is the first Russian citizen convicted of crimes relating to the 2016 election, though her efforts to infiltrate Republican circles appeared to be separate from the Kremlin's sweeping election-meddling campaign detailed in special counsel Robert Mueller's report. The 30-year-old gun rights enthusiast has been incarcerated since her arrest in July and will receive credit for the nine months previously served. She will be deported to Russia after serving her sentence.
"This was no simple misunderstanding by an overeager foreign student," Judge Tanya Chutkan said. "The conduct was sophisticated and penetrated deep into political organizations," Chutkan said, siding with the government's sentencing recommendation and noting that Butina's actions took place as Russia was actively trying to interfere in the US democratic process.

Butina spoke for five minutes at Friday's hearing, her voice at times breaking, as she expressed regret for her crime and asked for forgiveness. "I deeply regret this crime," Butina said. "Ironically it has harmed my attempts to improve relationships between the two countries." "I came to the US not under orders but with hope," Butina said. "I sought to build bridges between my motherland and the country that I grew to love." "Never did I wish to hurt anyone," Butina said. An assistant US attorney, Erik Kenerson, said Butina worked with a Russian official as a "conduit" to send information to the Russian government, and listed several examples that the defense had not disputed of her reports, including a list of potential US secretary of state nominees she had sent back.

To the red: BS. She's only sorry she was charged, prosecuted and sentenced. One less Russian agent roaming around the US. Good riddance.

Russian agent Maria Butina took an active part in Putin's invasion and occupation of Ukraine's Crimea and Donbas regions. She was agitating in Simferopol (Crimea) on 19 March 2014 and in Donetsk (Ukraine) on 11 June 2014.

 

[Rexedgar]

Prison make-up doesn’t agree with Maria...

 

[GDViking]

I bet she's pissed the NRA convention...

 

[ThirdTerm]

Probably Butina was lobbying out of her own volition as the founder of the Russian Right to Bear Arms group. She contacted the National Rifle Association (NRA) to introduce American-style gun laws in Russia. One Nation Australia's links with the NRA were similarly exposed.

Also in 2011, Butina founded Right to Bear Arms, described as a Russian gun-rights organization[16] that lobbied to change Russia's strict gun control laws. She began traveling back and forth to the U.S., initially with Aleksandr Torshin,[18] who was then a Senator in the Federation Council of Russia and a leading member of United Russia.[18] He had hired her as his "special assistant" that year.[7] In 2012, they lobbied the council to expand gun rights.[16] Butina resigned from her position as the head of Right to Bear Arms in late 2014.[20]

In 2013 she met Republican political operative Paul Erickson in Russia. The two became close, started dating, and eventually moved in together. In 2015 she emailed him a description of her plan to help the Republicans win the 2016 elections through the National Rifle Association (NRA).[12] In January 2015, Torshin became deputy governor of the Central Bank of Russia, and Butina worked as his special assistant until May 2017.[22][6] In 2017, Butina told The Washington Post that she never worked for the Russian government.[23]

 

[Rogue Valley]

Probably Butina was lobbying of her own volition as the founder of the Russian Right to Bear Arms group. She contacted the National Rifle Association (NRA) to introduce American-style gun laws in Russia. One Nation Australia's links with the NRA were similarly exposed.

Ummmm no. She plead guilty to being an unregistered foreign agent.