Possible plea deal in covert agent probe
WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors appear to have struck a plea deal with Maria Butina, the Russian woman accused of running a secret campaign to influence powerful American conservatives, according to court papers filed Monday.
The prosecutors and Butina’s lawyers jointly requested a hearing for Butina to change her plea. The move is almost always the final step before announcing a deal.
Although neither side disclosed details of what they may have agreed upon, a deal would likely require Butina to cooperate with investigators. Her arrest in July stemmed from what officials described as a broader counterintelligence investigation by the Justice Department and FBI, and investigators probably want to hear what Butina could tell them about covert Russian influence efforts in the United States. The inquiry is separate from the work being done by special counsel Robert Mueller.
Any deal would bring to a close a case that drew headlines with prosecutors accusing Butina, 29, of running a years-long campaign to work her way into the upper echelons of the Republican Party’s elite, using sex as spycraft when necessary. The government later backed off that allegation.
In the government’s telling, Butina used her position as a gun-rights activist in Russia to establish connections with powerful American conservatives, including leading members of the National Rifle Association.
Her lawyers also have pointed to Butina’s open life in the United States — she was a frequent poster on social media — as evidence to counter the government’s claims. For an alleged Russian agent funded by an oligarch, they say, Butina hardly lived a life of fake identities and secret communications.
During her time as a graduate student at American University, she openly advocated Russiafriendly policies and closer ties between her homeland and the United States in speeches. She posted photos on Instagram of herself toting guns and checked in on Facebook from locations like Russia House, a caviar-slinging lounge in Washington.
Butina also proved adept at getting close to powerful older men. She snapped pictures with prominent Republicans, including Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and other former presidential candidates.