A 30-year-old former student has become the first Russian national convicted for seeking to influence US politics during the 2016 presidential election.
Maria Butina, who built a powerful network that reached into Donald Trump’s circle, tried to infiltrate the influential National Rifle Association (NRA) and relay intelligence on American politicians to a Russian government official.
On Thursday, at the US district court for the District of Columbia, Butina pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in exchange for less prison time.
The prosecutors in the Butina case are not from the office of special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and whether Trump’s campaign conspired with Moscow. Mueller has brought criminal charges against a series of Russian individuals and entities but those cases are still pending.
Butina entered the packed courtroom in Washington looking composed but wan. The court heard that solitary confinement has taken a toll on her. Her red hair was pulled back in a long braid. She wore a green jumpsuit with short sleeves; underneath was a white garment that had a hole in the left elbow.
She stood before Judge Tanya Chutkan and took the oath. The judge asked if Butina’s mind was clear as she prepared to enter the guilty plea. She replied: “Absolutely clear.”
Butina is a former graduate student at American University in Washington and enthusiastic gun rights activist. Prosecutors said she drafted a proposal entitled “Description of Diplomacy Project” in March 2015 – before Trump launched his election campaign – to develop ties with the Republicans with the aim of influencing US foreign policy.
The statement of offence notes: “Further, Butina opined that the circumstances were favorable for building relations with a certain US political party (hereafter, ‘Political Party #1’). Butina predicted that the candidate nominated by Political Party #1 would likely win the upcoming US presidential election.”
She did not shy away from the spotlight. In July 2015 Butina was selected to ask Trump a question about his plans for ties with Russia at a rally in Las Vegas. In what are thought to be his first public remarks on the issue, the novice candidate replied: “I believe I would get along very nicely with Putin … I don’t think you’d need the sanctions.”
Prosecutors also told how Butina worked with her American boyfriend Paul Erickson, a longtime Republican operative and insider at theNRA, to pursue the plot.
The scheme was guided and financed in part by Alexander Torshin, an ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin and deputy governor of the Russian central bank whose retirement was reported last week by US media.
The statement of offence reads: “With US 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 US politics. Butina sought to use those unofficial lines of communication for the benefit of the Russian Federation, acting through Russian Official.”
In early 2016, Erickson was in contact with a senior official on the Trump campaign, Rick Dearborn, offering to help set up a meeting between Trump and Putin before the election, with Torshin apparently the middleman.
And in May 2016, Torshin and Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, attended a formal dinner during the NRA’s annual convention in Louisville, Kentucky, though it is not known if they spoke to each other.
Butina also travelled to conferences to meet Republican candidates, hosted “friendship dinners” with wealthy Americans, courted with NRA leaders and coordinated a Russian delegation to last year’s national prayer breakfast in Washington, where Trump gave remarks.
She was arrested in July 2017 and charged with acting as an agent of Russia’s government and conspiracy to take actions on behalf of Moscow. She initially pleaded not guilty but changed her plea at Thursday’s hearing.
Chutkan repeatedly asked if Butina understood what rights she was waiving. She said she did. Chutkan asked: “What do you want to do?” Butina replied firmly: “Guilty.”
The judge said: “I am satisfied that Maria Butina is fully competent and capable of making a decision today … I will accept the guilty plea and Maria Butina is judged guilty of this offence.”
No sentencing date has been set but a status hearing was scheduled for 12 February. Under her plea deal, Butina agreed to cooperate “completely and forthrightly” with US law enforcement about “any and all” matters deemed relevant. She faces a possible maximum prison sentence of five years followed by deportation. But her lawyer, Robert Driscoll, estimated that under US sentencing guidelines for similar crimes, she could face up to six months in prison.
The prosecution’s statement of offence did not mention Trump or his campaign by name. But Reuters has previously reported that Butina was a Trump supporter who boasted at Washington parties that she could use her political connections to help people get jobs in his White House. No evidence was presented that she worked for Russian intelligence.
But the case will continue to reverberate in Washington as Mueller’s net tightens around Trump and his allies, including the gun lobby. Democratic congressman Ted Lieu tweeted: “The guilty plea of Russian operative Maria Butina today raises the questions of what did @NRA officials know and when did they know it? The plea also raises the issue of what GOP party members or electeds may have known. Oh, and in January, House Democrats control subpoena power.”
Putin spoke about Butina on Tuesday in Moscow, a day after US court filings indicated that she would plea guilty in Washington. “She risks 15 years in jail. For what?” he asked. “I asked all the heads of our intelligence services what is going on. Nobody knows anything about her.”