A Russian woman accused of acting as an agent for Moscow to infiltrate a powerful gun-rights group and make inroads with American conservative activists and the Republican Party has pleaded guilty to a single conspiracy charge in a deal with U.S. prosecutors.
Maria Butina, a graduate student at American University in Washington who publicly advocated for gun rights, entered the plea to a charge of conspiracy to act as a foreign agent at a hearing in Washington.
The 30-year-old became the first Russian to be convicted of working to influence U.S. policy during the 2016 presidential race and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
Butina admitted to conspiring with a Russian official and two Americans from 2015 until her July arrest to infiltrate the National Rifle Association, a group closely aligned with U.S. conservatives and Republican politicians including President Donald Trump, and create unofficial lines of communication to try to make Washington's policy toward Moscow more friendly.
Alexander Torshin, who was a deputy governor of Russia's central bank, has been identified by Butina's lawyers as the Russian official. Torshin was hit with U.S. Treasury Department sanctions in April.
Paul Erickson, a conservative U.S. political activist with deep Republican ties who was romantically linked to Butina, was one of the two Americans to whom prosecutors referred.
Robert Driscoll, lawyer for Russian national Maria Butina, leaves the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., December 13, 2018. /VCG Photo
Butina was jailed after being charged in July and initially pleaded not guilty.
Although there are no U.S. sentencing guidelines for her specific crime, her lawyer Robert Driscoll estimated that under guidelines for similar crimes Butina could face up to six months in prison. She also faces possible deportation to Russia after finishing her sentence.
Because of Butina's ongoing cooperation, the judge did not set a sentencing date but scheduled a status hearing for February 12.
(Cover: Accused Russian agent Maria Butina pleads guilty to a single conspiracy charge in this courtroom sketch in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., December 13, 2018. /VCG Photo)