Accused Russian agent Maria Butina pleads guilty to attempting to sway US policy
by Rozina Sabur, Washington - 13 December 2018 - 9:18pm
A Russian woman has admitted to acting as an agent for the Kremlin to get close to the Republican party in an effort to influence US policies.
Maria Butina, 30, pleaded guilty to a single charge of conspiracy in a court in Washington on Thursday, admitting to working under the direction of a top Russian official to infiltrate the National Rifle Association (NRA), a powerful gun rights group closely aligned with senior Republican politicians.
She is the first Russian citizen to be convicted of working to shape US policy in the run up and through the 2016 election campaign, agreeing to co-operate with prosecutors for less prison time.
Appearing before Judge Tanya Chutkan, she admitted to conspiring to work with Alexander Torshin, a former deputy governor of Russia's central bank, and two US citizens as a Russian agent from 2015 until her 2018 arrest.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/12/13/accused-russian-agent-maria-butina-pleads-guilty-attempting/