Russian Operative Maria Butina Arrested By FBI Linked To NRA, Trump, And GOP (UPDATED)

Butina was arrested Sunday on charges that she failed to register as a foreign agent. In the charging documents, she is linked to Alexander Torshin, a Russian oligarch and funder of the NRA. But there's more:

Butina is accused of developing relationships with American politicians and a “gun rights organization,” none of which are named in the affidavit supporting the criminal complaint. FBI Special Agent Kevin Helson wrote that Butina was attempting to “establish a ‘back channel’ communication for representatives of the Government of Russia.”

The affidavit also contains apparent communications, by direct message on Twitter, between Butina and the unnamed Russian official. “Your political star has risen in the sky,” the official told Butina. “Now it is important to rise to the zenith and not burn out (fall) prematurely,” and they later discussed the “Russia-USA friendship society.”

It's pretty clear the gun rights organization is the NRA, who may have laundered Russian money to help elect Donald Trump.



https://crooksandliars.com/2018/07/russian-operative-maria-butina-arrested