Maria Butina, which this week charged with trying to create a line of «reverse channel» with American politicians, wanted to organize a secret meeting Donald trump and Vladimir Putin during the presidential campaign in 2016.
According to court documents, at the request of a senior official from Russia, Butina is the National rifle Association and religious organizations to make the position of the Republican party more Pro-Russian.
While the presidents of the United States and Russia, while at the summit in Helsinki, has denied any Russian interference in the elections, Butina has admitted that its secret actions were approved by the Kremlin. In addition, the defendant was involved in 2 unsuccessful attempts to arrange meetings between Putin and trump in 2016.
Meanwhile, lawyer Robert Driscoll said that «Maria Butina is not an agent of the Russian Federation» and that all charges against her — inflated. «There is simply no data which would testify that Butina wants to influence or undermine a particular political course or the law,» added Driscoll.
According to prosecutors, Maria Butina entered the United States on a student visa in 2016, but to implement the scheme began in 2013. In Russia, she founded the public organization «gun rights«.
The U.S. Department of justice said that the defendant was acting on behalf of a senior official in the Russian government. Earlier American mass-media named the curator of Butynol Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of Russia Alexander Torshin, who is linked to Russian FSB and Russian organized crime. He is among the 24 citizens of Russia, where in 2018 it was sanctioned for attempting to undermine the democratic foundations of the West.
Maria Butina. «Gun rights». 2015 pic.twitter.com/W4hgkhrZwm
— A. P. Torshin (@torshin_ru) December 11, 2016
Torshin, belonging to the inner circle of Putin, always said nice things about trump, calling the American leader a «supporter of traditional family values» and «real man.»
After the trump in-law Jared Kushner refused to arrange the meeting between Putin and trump, Torshin with Butini met with the eldest son of President Donald trump, Jr., who helped «spy» to establish contacts with politicians, businessmen and media representatives.
They also visited several events organized by the Republican party, including 2 national prayer Breakfast in 2016 and 2017. In one of his letters Butina mentions that Torshin suggested that Putin called for Breakfast in February 2017, which was made by trump.
Tomorrow, July 18, Mary Butynol must elect a measure of restraint.
