Russian woman ‘conspiring to spy for Moscow’ charged in US

A RUSSIAN woman with ties to a US gun lobby has been arrested and charged with conspiracy to act as a spy for Moscow.

Maria Butina, 29, was arrested on Sunday at her home in Washington DC and appeared in federal court on Monday, before Magistrate Judge Deborah A Robinson.

She was charged with conspiracy to act as an agent of the Russian Federation within the US, without prior notification to the attorney general. The maximum penalty for conspiracy is five years in prison.

Butina’s lawyer, Robert Neil Driscoll, told the judge that Butina’s residence was searched by the FBI in April, that she had testified for eight hours before the Senate Intelligence Committee in a closed session several months ago.he said her arrest was premature, adding: “We have been offering to cooperate with the government the entire time.”

Butina did not speak during the brief hearing other than to state her name, and was held without bail. She will appear in court again on Wednesday for a preliminary hearing.

The charges against Butina come days after the justice department unveiled an indictment against 12 Russian intelligence officers for allegedly conspiring to hack Democrats in 2016.

They also came shortly after President Donald Trump cast doubt on Russian meddling in the 2016 election, in an extraordinary joint news conference with President Vladimir Putin.

Konstantin Kosachyov, head of the foreign affairs committee in Russia’s upper house of parliament, said Butina’s arrest was a Russophobic backlash against the positive talks between Mr Trump and Mr Putin in Helsinki.

“We had to expect something similar, unfortunately. The anti-russian machine is resisting with all possible means,” he said. “This could be a reaction to the results of the summit by an out-of-control machine of American hawks and security officials.”

Butina is accused of developing relationships with US politicians and a “gun rights organisation”.

In the court documents FBI Special Agent Kevin Helson wrote that she was attempting to “establish a “back channel” communication for representatives of the Government of Russia.”

The affidavit also contains apparent communications, by direct message on Twitter, between Butina and the unnamed Russian official.