Russian With Strong Ties To The NRA Charged With Spying Against U.S.
Russian agent attempted to establish a secret backchannel between Trump and Moscow.
Maria Butina, a Russian national with deep ties to the National Rifle Association was arrested and charged Monday for with “work[ing] at the direction of a high-level official in the Russian government.”
According to a Justice Department press release, DOJ charges Butina with acting “as an agent of Russia… by developing relationships with U.S. persons and infiltrating organizations having influence in American politics, for the purpose of advancing the interests of the Russian Federation.”
Multiple news outlets have reported that Butina and other Russians worked as agents of the Russian government to establish a secret backchannel between Trump and Moscow.
Butina is said to have a relationship with Russian oligarch Alexander Torshin who also has deep ties to the NRA.
In their charging document, the Justice Department noted that Butina’s connection to an individual working at the Russian Central Bank and sanctioned in April 2018 went on from as early as 2015 to February 2017.
Torshin was sanctioned by the Treasury Department in April of this year.
Read the full Department of Justice charging document here.
[image via Facebook/CSPAN]
