Russian woman charged by U.S., accused of conspiracy, spying
Gun rights advocate is linked to NRA
WASHINGTON — A Russian woman who tried to broker a pair of secret meetings between then-candidate Donald Trump and Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, during the 2016 presidential campaign, was charged Monday and accused of working with Americans to carry out a secret Russian effort to influence U.S. politics.
Working at the behest of a Russian government official and with help from an unidentified U.S. political operative, the woman, Mariia Butina, worked to infiltrate U.S. organizations as a way to secretly advance Russian interests, prosecutors said.
As part of that effort, she tried to establish “back channel” lines of communication with U.S. politicians, according to court records. “These lines could be used by the Russian Federation to penetrate the U.S. national decision-making apparatus to advance the agenda of the Russian Federation,” an FBI agent wrote in court documents.
The charges were filed under seal Saturday, the day after 12 Russian intelligence officers were indicted by the Justice Department’s special counsel for hacking Democratic computers to interfere with the 2016 campaign. They were unsealed just hours after Mr. Trump stood beside Mr. Putin and said he saw no reason the Russian leader would try to influence the presidential election. Mr. Trump’s own intelligence chiefs have concluded otherwise.
Together, the indictments portray a multifaceted effort by Russia to sway the election through computer espionage, personal overtures and the assistance of U.S. intermediaries.
Ms. Butina, whose first name is more commonly spelled Maria, twice tried to set up meetings between Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin in 2016. The charges announced Monday do not name Mr. Trump but they make clear that Ms. Butina’s overtures were part of a carefully crafted Russian intelligence operation.
Ms. Butina was arrested Sunday in Washington and made her first appearance in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson. Her attorney, Robert Neil Driscoll, told the judge that Ms. Butina’s residence was searched by the FBIin April, that she had testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee in a closed session several months ago, and that “we have been offering to cooperate with the governmentthe entire time.”
Ms. Butina did not speak during the brief hearing other than to state her name. A detention hearing and preliminary hearing were set for Wednesday.
Ms. Butina is accused of developing relationships with American politicians and a “gun rights organization,” none of which are named in the affidavit supporting the criminal complaint. FBI Special Agent Kevin Helson wrote that Ms. Butina was attempting to “establish a ‘back channel’ communication for representatives of the Government of Russia.”
Prosecutors said that an unidentified U.S. operative helped Ms. Butina identify political, media and business officials to target. Ms. Butina met the operative in Moscow, prosecutors said. Quoting from emails, prosecutors laid out the most explicit evidence to date that at least one American was knowingly involved in the Russian influence effort.
Though the U.S. operative is not identified, The New York Times has previously reported that Ms. Butina developed a close relationship with Paul Erickson, a National Rifle Association member and longtime conservative activist who was part of the effort to arrange a meeting between Mr.Putin and Mr. Trump. Ms. Butina has publicly described hosting Mr. Erickson at an event in Moscow.
Mr. Erickson did not respond to a message seeking comment. Also, the NRA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Times has previously reported that Ms. Butina established deep ties to the NRA and tried to use that organization to help broker meetings with U.S. political leaders, including Mr. Trump and members of his campaign.
The charges were filed by Justice Department national security prosecutors, not the special counsel, Robert Mueller, whom Mr. Trump has accused of carrying out a witch hunt. The charges do not appear to stem from Mr. Mueller’s investigation.
The Justice Department said Ms. Butina has worked at the behest of an unidentified high-level Russian government official, who has been previously identified as Alexander Torshin, the deputy governor of the Russian central bank and former senator linked both to Russia’s security services and organized crime.