Maria Butina

Maria Butina
Butina in 2014
Born Maria Valeryevna Butina
(Russian: Мари́я Вале́рьевна Бу́тина)
(1988-11-10) November 10, 1988
Barnaul, Altai Krai, RSFSR, USSR
Alma mater

Altai State University (Spc., Cand. of Sci.)[1]

American University (M.A.)[2]

Maria Valeryevna Butina (Russian: Мари́я Вале́рьевна Бу́тина; born November 10, 1988; also transliterated as Mariia)[3][4][5] is a Russian political activist alleged to have acted as an unregistered Russian agent, under 18 U.S.C. §951, in the United States. She is the founder of "Right to Bear Arms", a Russian group.[6] In April 2018, Butina told the Senate Intelligence Committee that Konstantin Nikolaev, a Russian billionaire, provided funding for the group.[7] Beginning in 2011, she worked for Aleksandr Torshin, a former member of the Federation Council, a member of Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party, and a deputy governor of the Central Bank of Russia.[8]

In July 2018, while residing in Washington D.C., Butina was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and charged with acting as an agent of the Russian Federation without notifying the attorney general under 18 U.S.C. §951 [9] but not the Foreign Agents Registration Act as was misreported in the media.[10] Slate Magazine called the government accusation misleading and the charges murky.[11] Butina has had an unusually high number of visits from Russian officials.[12]

Early life and education

Butina was born in Barnaul, Altai Krai, Russia, on November 10, 1988. Her mother was an engineer, and her father was an entrepreneur who established a furniture manufacturing business in Barnaul.[13] She grew up in the Siberian taiga, where her father introduced her to guns and taught her to hunt.[14] Butina said: "It is a rare Siberian who can imagine himself without a rifle in the home."[15]

She studied political science at Altai State University in Barnaul and also received a teaching degree. At 19, she was elected to the Public Council of Altai Krai in the last direct election for the Council.[16][13]

Biography

Butina built a furniture retail business in Altai Krai when she was 21.[13] In 2011, she moved to Moscow and sold six of her seven furniture stores to start an advertising agency.[13][17] That year, she participated in the Youth Primaries organized by the Young Guard of United Russia, the youth wing of the United Russia party, which rules the Russian Federation.[18]

Also in 2011, Butina founded Right to Bear Arms, described as a Russian gun-rights organization[15] that lobbied to change Russia's strict gun control laws. She began traveling back and forth to the U.S., initially with Aleksandr Torshin,[17] who was then a Senator in the Federation Council of Russia and a leading member of United Russia.[17] He had hired her as his "special assistant" that year.[8] In 2012, they lobbied the Federation Council to expand gun rights.[15] Butina resigned from her position as the head of Right to Bear Arms in late 2014.[19] In 2015, Butina said that Right to Bear Arms had 10,000 members and 76 offices in Russia.[20]

In 2013 she met Republican political operative Paul Erickson in Russia. The two became close, started dating, and eventually moved in together. In 2015 she emailed him a description of her plan to help the Republicans win the 2016 elections through the NRA.[21]

In August 2016, she moved to the United States on a student visa, and enrolled as a graduate student at American University in Washington, D.C.[22] Torshin became deputy governor of the Central Bank of Russia in January 2015, and she worked as his special assistant until May 2017.[23][6] In 2017, Butina told The Washington Post that she never worked for the Russian government.[24]

In February 2016, Butina and Erickson began a South Dakota business, Bridges LLC.[23][25] Erickson later said the company was established in case Butina needed any monetary assistance for her graduate studies, which Butina commenced in mid-2016 American University in Washington.[26] In 2018, she completed a masters degree in international relations.[27]

Involvement in U.S. politics

National Rifle Association

Torshin and Butina established a cooperative relationship between the National Rifle Association (NRA) and Right to Bear Arms. Torshin has attended NRA annual meetings in the United States since at least 2011. Following the 2011 meeting, then NRA President David Keene expressed his support for Torshin's "endeavors" and extended an invitation to the 2012 meeting.[28] Torshin also attended NRA annual meetings in 2012 and 2013.[20] In November 2013, Keene was a guest at the conference of the Right to Bear Arms in Moscow.[18]

Butina and Torshin attended the 2014 NRA annual meeting as special guests of former NRA president Keene.[23][29] Butina attended the Women's Leadership Luncheon at the 2014 meeting as a guest of former NRA president Sandy Froman.[24][29] Butina presented to then NRA president Jim Porter a plaque from Right to Bear Arms. Afterwards, she tweeted "Mission accomplished." As Keene's guest, Butina rang the NRA's Liberty Bell, saying, "To the right to bear arms for citizens of the whole world."[18] Butina and Torshin also attended the 2015 NRA annual convention.[30]

In 2015, a number of NRA officials attended Right to Bear Arms's annual gun conference in Russia. Among them were Keene, gun manufacturer and NRA first vice president Pete Brownell,[31] conservative American political operative Paul Erickson, and Milwaukee County sheriff David Clarke. One of their hosts was Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who in 2014 was sanctioned by the White House following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Clarke's trip cost $40,000, with all expenses paid by the NRA, Pete Brownell (an NRA board member and CEO of a gun-parts supply company) and Right to Bear Arms.[24][32][33] According to a disclosure Clarke filed, Right to Bear Arms paid $6,000 to cover his meals, lodging, transportation and other expenses.[17] During the meeting, Clarke met the Russian foreign minister and attended a conference at which Torshin spoke.[24][33] In November 2016, Torshin tweeted that he and Butina were lifetime NRA members.[20][34]

Republican Party

Butina has attempted to develop ties to conservative American politics. In a supporting affidavit to the government's support for pre-trial detention following her indictment in United States of America v. Mariia Butina, the FBI stated that she had successfully sought ties to the Republican Party, where it is referred to as "POLITICAL PARTY 1".[5] According to The Daily Beast, she has presented herself as a "Russian central bank staffer, a leading gun rights advocate, a 'representative of the Russian Federation,' a Washington, D.C. graduate student, a journalist, and a connection between Team Trump and Russia" in order to gain access to "high-level contacts" in Washington, D.C.[23] At the 2014 NRA annual meeting, Butina took selfies with Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and former U.S. Senator and 2016 presidential candidate Rick Santorum. At the 2015 NRA annual meeting, she met Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, and in July 2015, she was present at the launch of Walker's 2016 presidential campaign.[18][20]

Obama administration officials

In 2015, Torshin, then the Russian Central Bank deputy governor, and Butina met the Treasury undersecretary for international affairs, Nathan Sheets to discuss U.S.-Russian economic relations.[35] Separately, they also met with a Federal Reserve vice chairman, Stanley Fischer and with a State Department official.[35][36][37]

Donald Trump campaign

In a June 2015 article published in The National Interest, a conservative American international affairs magazine, just before Trump announced his candidacy for president, she urged better relations between the United States and Russia,[20] saying, "It may take the election of a Republican to the White House in 2016 to improve relations between the Russian Federation and the United States." Her biography on the article did not mention that she worked for the Russian government.[18] The next month, Butina attended FreedomFest, where Trump gave a speech, and asked him from the audience about ending U.S. sanctions against Russia, to which he replied, "I don't think you'd need the sanctions."[18][38] Butina hosted a birthday party attended by Erickson and Trump campaign aides shortly after the 2016 election.[20]

In May 2016, Erickson sent an email with the subject line "Kremlin Connection" to Trump campaign adviser Rick Dearborn, asking Dearborn and then-Senator Jeff Sessions for advice on setting up a meeting between Trump and Putin at an annual NRA convention.[6][25]

Accusation of trading sex for power

When Maria Butina was first arrested prosecutors accused her of using sex to gain power in a manner similar to the movie Red Sparrow but latter backed away from that accusation.[39] In a September 9, 2018 filing[40] prosecutors admit they may have interpreted a joke she made and that she did not in fact conspire to use sex to attain power.[41]

USA vs Maria Butina

The complaint

United States of America v. Maria Butina
United States District Court for the District of Columbia
Full case name United States of America v. Mariia Butina also known as Maria Butina
Citations 18 U.S.C. § 951.
Judge sitting Deborah A. Robinson
Prosecutor(s) Erik Michael Kenerson
Plaintiff(s) United States of America
Defendant(s) Maria Butina

On July 15, 2018, Butina was arrested in Washington, D.C. and charged with acting in the United States as an agent of a foreign government; specifically the Russian Federation, without prior notification to the Attorney General, a conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, to wit, 18 U.S.C. §951 (Foreign Relations, Agents of foreign governments), in violation of 18 U.S.C. §371 (Conspiracy).[42] When originally arrested many main stream media mistakenly reported she was charged with a violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (22 U.S.C. §11 Foreign Agents AND Propaganda). The website Lawfare pointed out that "the Justice Department’s National Security Division—which approves all FARA and Section 951 charges—takes the difference between the two crimes seriously."[10] Her attorney stated "The allegations of the indictment are essentially that her only illegal act was not registering."[10]

On July 18, Butina pleaded not guilty,[43] and a District Court judge ordered her jailed pending trial.[43] She is also said to be cooperating in a federal fraud investigation in South Dakota.[44]

The affidavit

According to the affidavit in support of the complaint, from as early as 2015 and continuing through at least February 2017, Butina worked at the direction of a high-level official in the Russian government, widely believed to be Torshin. The court filings detail the Russian official’s and Butina’s efforts for Butina to act as an agent of Russia inside the United States by developing relationships with U.S. persons and infiltrating organizations having influence in American Republican and conservative politics—such as the National Rifle Association, the National Prayer Breakfast and conservative religious organizations—for the purpose of advancing the interests of the Russian Federation.[45] The filings also describe certain actions taken by Butina to further this effort during multiple visits from Russia and, later, when she entered and resided in the United States on a student visa. The filings allege that she undertook her activities without officially disclosing the fact that she was acting as an agent of Russian government, as required by law.[46]

Butina, Torshin, and Erickson have been subjects of an investigation by the Senate Intelligence Committee into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. Erickson is referred to in Butina's indictment as "Person 1." In addition, George D. O'Neill, Jr., a conservative writer and Rockefeller heir, is "Person 2."[20][26][47] Torshin has also been the subject of a probe by the Federal Bureau of Investigation into whether the Russian government attempted to illegally funnel money to the NRA in order to help Trump win the presidency.[26][30] The FBI began to monitor Butina in August 2016 when she moved to the United States on a F-1 student visa. Rather than confront her immediately, the organization chose to track her movements and gather information of who she was meeting, and what her end goals were to be.[48]

Gag order

At the request of prosecutors,[49] the judge imposed a "gag order" preventing both the prosecution and defense from speaking publicly about the case.[50]

Reactions

On July 18, Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Butina's arrest was designed to undermine the "positive results" of the Helsinki summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, notwithstanding that she was arrested a day before the Trump-Putin meeting.[27] Butina's father has called the accusations against her "psychopathy and a witch-hunt".[51]

Rep. Thomas Massie commented that "Unfortunately, what began as only Russophobic rhetoric seems to have turned into a witch hunt, as President Trump calls it. For example, the current hysteria may have motivated the recent arrest and indictment of Maria Butina, a former Russian graduate student at American University in Washington, D.C.  Unlike many accused of violent crimes, Butina (who has not been accused of harming anyone) was denied bail, and is now reportedly being held in solitary confinement in federal prison until her trial. " [52]

Pat Buchanan, noting that "History repeats itself first as tragedy, then as farce," compared the comparatively unimportant Maria Butina to prosecutions during the Cold War saying "Who do we have today to match Hiss and the Rosenbergs? A 29-year-old redheaded Russian Annie Oakley named Maria Butina, accused of infiltrating the National Rifle Association and the National Prayer Breakfast."[53]

Samantha Bee commented that "If the news is starting to feel like a bad movie, it’s because thanks to Maria Butina, it is."[54]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Семья Марии Бутиной узнала из СМИ о ее задержании в США по обвинению в шпионаже". Archived from the original on 17 July 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  2. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2018-07-17. Retrieved 2018-07-17.
  3. ↑ Matt Apuzzo, Katie Benner and Sharon LaFraniere (July 16, 2018). "Mariia Butina, Who Sought ‘Back Channel’ Meeting for Trump and Putin, Is Charged as Russian Agent". The New York Times.
  4. ↑ Vera Bergengruen (July 16, 2018). "Charges Say Accused Russian Agent Used The NRA And The National Prayer Breakfast In Effort To Influence US Policy". Buzzfeed.
  5. 1 2 Kevin Helson (2018-07-14). "In the matter of an application for a criminal complaint for Mariia Butina, also known as Maria Butina". US Department of Justice. Archived from the original on 2018-07-17.
  6. 1 2 3 Fandos, Nicholas (December 3, 2017). "Operative Offered Trump Campaign ‘Kremlin Connection’ Using N.R.A. Ties". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  7. ↑ John Fritze (July 23, 2018). "Report: Alleged spy Maria Butina paid by Russian billionaire Konstantin Nikolaev". USAToday.com. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  8. 1 2 "Maria Butina Loved Guns, Trump and Russia. It Was a Cover, Prosecutors Say". Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  9. ↑ "The criminal complaint against Maria Butina by the Dept. of Justice". justice.gov.
  10. 1 2 3 "No, Mariia Butina Wasn't Charged With Violating FARA". Lawfare. 2018-07-27. Retrieved 2018-09-03.
  11. ↑ Stahl, Jeremy. "Misleading Government Accusation Against Butina Attorney Points to Murkiness of Case". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2018-09-03.
  12. ↑ Tim Johnson and Greg Gordon (September 19, 2018). "Russian officials keep hanging out at U.S. jails. What do they want?". McClatchyDC.com. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Мостовщиков, Егор (April 17, 2014). "Как создать оружейное лобби и не прогореть" [How to create a weapons lobby and not burn out]. GQ Russia (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2017-06-13. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Maria Butina: NRA member, lobbyist, and Kremlin spy?". Deutsche Welle. July 17, 2018.
  15. 1 2 3 Ioffe, Julia (November 15, 2012). "The Rise of Russia's Gun Nuts". The New Republic. Archived from the original on July 17, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  16. ↑ Мария Бутина [Maria Butina]. Молодежные праймериз 2011 (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2018-04-08.
  17. 1 2 3 4 Altman, Alex; Dias, Elizabeth. "Moscow Cozies Up to the Right". Time magazine. Archived from the original on 2017-03-09. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Dickinson, Tim (April 2, 2018). "Inside the Decade-Long Russian Campaign to Infiltrate the NRA and Help Elect Trump". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 7, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  19. ↑ Bodner, Matthew; Charlton, Angela; Pane, Lisa Marie (September 10, 2018). "Misfire: Maria Butina's strange route from Russia to US jail". The Washington Post. Associated Press. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Clifton, Denise; Follman, Mark (March 8, 2018). "The Very Strange Case of Two Russian Gun Lovers, the NRA, and Donald Trump". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on 2018-07-17.
  21. ↑ Prokop, Andrew (July 19, 2018). "Maria Butina, explained: the accused Russian spy who tried to sway US politics through the NRA". Vox. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  22. ↑ Karimi, Faith (July 19, 2018). "Maria Butina's many roles: Grad student. Gun rights activist. Alleged Russian agent". CNN. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  23. 1 2 3 4 Mak, Tim (February 23, 2017). "The Kremlin and GOP Have a New Friend – and Boy, Does She Love Guns". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 2018-07-17.
  24. 1 2 3 4 Helderman, Rosalind S.; Hamburger, Tom (April 30, 2017). "Guns and religion: How American conservatives grew closer to Putin's Russia". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 9, 2018. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  25. 1 2 Mak, Tim (March 1, 2018). "Depth Of Russian Politician's Cultivation Of NRA Ties Revealed". NPR. Archived from the original on 2018-07-15.
  26. 1 2 3 Stone, Peter; Gordon, Greg (January 18, 2018). "FBI investigating whether Russian money went to NRA to help Trump". McClatchyDC. Archived from the original on 2018-07-16.
  27. 1 2 "Russian 'agent offered sex for job in US'". BBC News. 2018-07-18. Archived from the original on 2018-07-18. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
  28. ↑ Stedman, Scott (20 February 2018). "In 2011 handwritten letter, NRA President offered help to Alexander Torshin for his "endeavors"". Archived from the original on 2018-06-14. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  29. 1 2 Pavlich, Katie (May 6, 2014). "Part 1: Meet the Woman Working With the NRA and Fighting For Gun Rights in Russia". Townhall. Archived from the original on 2018-02-22. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  30. 1 2 Sheth, Sonam (17 March 2018). "Congress wants to question an NRA lawyer who reportedly raised concerns about the group's Russia ties". Archived from the original on 11 April 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  31. ↑ "Brownell, Pete (Board Member) – NRA On the Record". 9 June 2014. Archived from the original on 2018-06-14. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  32. ↑ "Bice: Sen. Tammy Baldwin says Sheriff David Clarke is being 'groomed' for Senate bid". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. March 13, 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-12-28.
  33. 1 2 Cliff Schecter (December 5, 2016). "How David Clarke Bridges Donald Trump's Gun Nuts and Vladimir Putin's Kleptocrats". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 2017-04-29.
  34. ↑ Mak, Tim. "The NRA May Have More Russian Contributors Than It First Said". NPR. Archived from the original on 2018-06-15. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  35. 1 2 Sarah N. Lynch (22 July 2018). "Exclusive: Alleged Russian agent Butina met with U.S. Treasury, Fed officials". Reuters. Retrieved 24 July 2018. took part in separate meetings with Fischer and Sheets to discuss U.S.-Russian economic relations during Democratic former President Barack Obama’s administration.
  36. ↑ Bob Davis (22 July 2018). "ACCUSED RUSSIAN AGENT BUTINA MET WITH STANLEY FISCHER". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 24 July 2018. A career State Department official also attended the session, Mr. Saunders said.
  37. ↑ Jeremy Herb; Sophie Tatum (23 July 2018). "Alleged spy met with US officials in 2015". CNN. Retrieved 24 July 2018. Butina attended meetings in 2015 with Stanley Fischer, then Federal Reserve vice chairman, and Nathan Sheets, who was then Treasury undersecretary for international affairs in the Obama administration.
  38. ↑ Follman, Mark (March 9, 2018). "Trump Spoke to a Russian Activist About Ending Sanctions – Just Weeks After Launching His Campaign". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on 2018-05-17.
  39. ↑ News, ABC. "Feds back away from 'Red Sparrow' sex claims in Maria Butina case". Retrieved 2018-09-10.
  40. ↑ Today), Brad Heath (USA. "Memorandum in Opposition". www.documentcloud.org. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
  41. ↑ Ryan, Lisa. "Accused Russian Spy Maria Butina Didn't Trade Sex for Power, Prosecutors Now Say". The Cut. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
  42. ↑ "Dept of Justice complaint against Maria Butina, AO 9l (Rrv. 08/09) Criminal Complaint". August 9, 2018.
  43. 1 2 Lynch, Sarah N. (July 18, 2018). "U.S. judge orders accused Russian agent jailed pending trial". Reuters. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  44. ↑ Pappenfuss, Mary (July 27, 2018). "Accused Spy Maria Butina Is Cooperating In Fraud Probe: Attorney". Huffington Post. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  45. ↑ "Maria Butina, Suspected Secret Agent, Used Sex in Covert Plan, Prosecutors Say". Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  46. ↑ "Russian National Charged in Conspiracy to Act as an Agent of the Russian Federation Within the United States". www.justice.gov. 16 July 2018. Archived from the original on 17 July 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  47. ↑ Rockefeller Heir Was Contact of Alleged Russian Agent, Wall Street Journal, Aruna Viswanatha and Julie Bykowicz, July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  48. ↑ Helderman, Rosalind S (July 17, 2018). "'She was like a novelty': How alleged Russian agent Maria Butina gained access to elite conservative circles". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
  49. ↑ "Accused Russian Spy Asks Judge to Deny Prosecution Gag-Order Bid". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
  50. ↑ Johnson, Kevin (10 September 2018). "Accused Russian agent Maria Butina to remain in jail, judge puts gag order on both sides". USA Today. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  51. ↑ "Maria Butina: Russian gun activist at heart of US Kremlin row". BBC News. July 18, 2018.
  52. ↑ "Russia Hysteria Undercuts Our Values, Impedes Relations | RealClearPolitics". Retrieved 2018-09-04.
  53. ↑ "Is Putin's Russia an 'Evil Empire'? | Patrick J. Buchanan - Official Website". buchanan.org. Retrieved 2018-09-04.
  54. ↑ Nevins, Jake (2018-07-26). "Samantha Bee on Maria Butina: 'The news is starting to feel like a bad movie'". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-09-04.
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