‘Kremlin agent’ admits targeting GOP, NRA
Woman befriended gun enthusiasts, conservatives to try to wield influence
Maria Butina pleaded guilty to acting as an undeclared Russian agent in the U.S. and agreed to co-operate with prosecutors, advancing an inquiry into Russia’s efforts to build back-channels to influential U.S. conservatives.
The 30-year-old gun enthusiast operated as a Kremlin agent as she befriended National Rifle Association leaders and influential conservatives, she admitted Thursday in federal court in Washington.
“Butina sought to establish unofficial lines of communication with Americans having power and influence over U.S. politics,” prosecutor Erik Kenerson said at the hearing, reading from the government’s statement of facts.
Butina appeared in court wearing a green prison jumpsuit and a long-sleeve undershirt with a rip in the left elbow. Her trademark long red hair was braided and she wore eyeglasses. Asked by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan if she agreed with the government’s characterization of the conspiracy, Butina said yes.
As part of the plea agreement, Butina may provide information about Paul Erickson, her one-time boyfriend. Erickson matches the description of a man referred to as “U.S. Person 1” in Butina’s charging documents. That person connected her with influential Republicans and wrote in a message that he had been involved “in securing a VERY private line of communication between the Kremlin” and key officials of the NRA, prosecutors said.
Erickson has visited Butina in jail several times this year, according to her attorney, Robert Driscoll. Bill Hurd, Erickson’s lawyer, said his client is “a good American” who “has never done anything to hurt our country and never would.”
Hurd was in the courtroom for the proceedings. He declined to comment afterward. The NRA and the Kremlin didn’t respond to requests for comment. The Russian Foreign Ministry declined to comment.
Oleg Morozov, a Russian lawmaker and former senior Kremlin official, told Bloomberg that the charges against Butina were “absurd.”
“She was not secret Russian agent, she did everything publicly and open,” Morozov said.
Butina, who remains jailed, faces a maximum of five years in prison, but she won’t be sentenced immediately. Her cooperation could lead to a reduced punishment. The judge scheduled a status hearing for Feb. 12. Butina was arrested in July. While in the U.S. starting in 2015, she was working to advance Russia’s interests, reporting regularly to a senior Russian official, according to her guilty plea.