Butina/NRA Update
Tim Dickinson at Rolling Stone:
On Thursday in federal court in Washington, D.C., the jailed Russian national Maria Butina pleaded guilty to conspiring against the United States under the direction of a Russian official.
According to the feds, Butina’s partners in this conspiracy included the official (widely identified as the former Russian senator and central banker Alexander Torshin) and Person 1, known to be Butina’s boyfriend and longtime GOP operative Paul Erickson.
The “Statement of Offense” released by the court reads in part: “With U.S. Person 1’s assistance and subject to Russian Official’s direction, Butina sought to establish unofficial lines of communication with Americans having power and influence over U.S. politics. Butina sought to use those unofficial lines of communication for the benefit of the Russian Federation.”
Judge Tanya Chutkan found Butina competent to deliver her plea Thursday and warned her she could be deported after sentencing. Summarizing the charges against Butina, Judge Chutkan spoke of Butina leveraging her contacts with a gun rights organization in an attempt to influence “Political Party #1” — the GOP.
The guilty plea adds a criminal overlay to the years-long effort by Butina and Torshin to infiltrate the National Rifle Association, leveraging the gun group’s leadership and its annual conventions to gain influence with top Republicans and the Trump family. A Rolling Stone expose in April detailed the history and scope of the operation. Torshin has since been hit by sanctions and barred from entering the United States. Butina was arrested in July and has been jailed without bail since.
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