Russian President Vladimir Putin denied that he and his intelligence chiefs knew anything about alleged Russian agent Maria Butina, who has been held in an American jail since July.
“She risks 15 years in jail. For what?” Putin asked, according to Reuters. “I asked all the heads of our intelligence services what is going on. Nobody knows anything about her.”
Butina, a 30-year-old gun rights activist from Russia, has reportedly agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy and cooperate with any ongoing investigations.
Butina admitted as part of the plea deal that she and an unnamed “U.S. Person 1,” who is believed to be GOP operative Paul Erickson — with whom Butina was romantically involved — “agreed and conspired, with a Russian government official (‘Russian official’) and at least one other person, for Butina to act in the United States under the direction of Russian official without prior notification to the attorney general.”
ABC News, which obtained a copy of the plea deal, reported that “Russian official” likely refers to Alexander Torshin, deputy governor of the Russian Central Bank and a close ally of Putin. Prosecutors say Torshin directed Butina “to establish unofficial lines of communication with Americans having power and influence over U.S. politics.”
Butina was charged over the summer with violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act for working as an unregistered foreign agent of the Russian government as she attended American University. She pleaded not guilty following her arrest.
