(8/16) Maria Butina moves to U.S. on student visa.
"Rather than question or confront [Butina]...officials decided to track her movements to determine whom she was meeting and what she was doing in the U.S. — the kind of monitoring that is not uncommon when foreign natls are suspected of working on behalf of a foreign gov't."
"She sidled up to GOP presidential candidates, seeking first an encounter with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and then, after his rising candidacy stumbled, with Donald Trump."
"But by August 2016, when she moved to the U.S. on a student visa, the FBI was watching, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter."
OMG, this is so funny. Just imagine what they have on Congressional Rs!🤣
OMG, this is so funny. Just imagine what they have on Congressional Rs!🤣
"By [8/16], Butina had already publicly quizzed Trump about his views on Russia and briefly met his eldest son at an NRA convention. After the FBI began monitoring her, Butina attended a ball at Trump’s inauguration and...."
"...tried to arrange a meeting between him and a senior Russian government official at last year’s annual National Prayer Breakfast.
By 2017, after she had enrolled as a graduate student at American University in Washington, Butina began probing groups on the left as well..."
By 2017, after she had enrolled as a graduate student at American University in Washington, Butina began probing groups on the left as well..."
"..trying unsuccessfully to interview a D.C.-based civil rights group about its cyber-vulnerabilities for what she said was a school project, according to a person familiar with her outreach."
"On Sunday, alerted that she was preparing to leave Washington for South Dakota, where monitoring her would be more difficult, federal authorities arrested Butina."
Bridges was est'd in South Dakota:
Bridges was est'd in South Dakota:
"Robert Driscoll, an attorney for Butina, said she is not a Russian agent but merely a student with interest in politics and a desire to network..." blah, blah, blah.
"At the same time prosecutors say 12 RU intel agents in Moscow sought to affect the 2016 presidential campaign...Butina was roaming the country, building ties on the Kremlin’s behalf wpowerful conservative figures..."
They started watching her at a great time. 8/16.
They started watching her at a great time. 8/16.
"People who encountered Butina said the gregarious redhead had a life story that appealed to many activists and offcls she met at GOP events. She told a conserv radio show in 2015 that she grew up in...Siberia, where her father taught her and her sister to hunt bears and wolves."
Early 20s, chain of furniture stores, ya don't say!
"After a brief career as the owner of a small chain of furniture stores, Butina moved to Moscow, where she began a career in public relations and founded a group called the Right to Bear Arms..."
"After a brief career as the owner of a small chain of furniture stores, Butina moved to Moscow, where she began a career in public relations and founded a group called the Right to Bear Arms..."
"Acting as Torshin’s assistant and translator, Butina soon began forming her own connections to the NRA, becoming friendly with David Keene, a past chairman of the American Conservative Union who served as the NRA’s president from 2011 to 2013,"
"2013: Butina and Torshin invited Keene and other American gun enthusiasts to Moscow to attend the annual mtg of her org.
There, Butina met..Erickson, a South Dakota-based Repub operative...She told the Senate Intel Committee...that she began a romantic relationship w/[him]."
There, Butina met..Erickson, a South Dakota-based Repub operative...She told the Senate Intel Committee...that she began a romantic relationship w/[him]."
"Starting in 2014, Butina began attending annual NRA conventions, according to her social-media accounts. She and Torshin got unusual access to elite NRA gatherings, according to a person familiar with NRA event arrangements."
"Butina told the Senate Intel Committee that neither she nor Torshin made contributions to the NRA other than membership dues, according to people familiar w/her testimony. Their warm treatment was extended merely to thank them for serving as hosts to NRA leaders in Moscow..."
"The NRA, which spent millions more to support Trump than any previous presidential candidate, has denied accepting funding from Butina or Torshin. "
NRA denies any other funds from Torshin.
NRA denies any other funds from Torshin.
"The NRA gave Butina a springboard into the world of Repub politics. In 3/15, court docs show that she and Erickson exchanged emails about a special “diplomacy” project, aiming to use the org to influence the Repub Party, which Butina predicted would win control of the WH."
"In a social-media post, Butina wrote that she met Walker and was surprised when she was able to exchange a few words in Russian with the Wisconsin governor, who was preparing a bid for the presidency and leading in polls."
"Later in 2015, she attended Walker’s kickoff political rally in Wisconsin and a town hall for candidates in Las Vegas, where candidates Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Trump were speaking."
8/15: "[Butina] also helped arrange a meeting for Torshin in St. Petersburg with Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), who was visiting with a congressional delegation on a trip cited in court filings."
"Butina had access to VIP areas at political events such as CPAC, giving her access to org leaders and top staff, according to people who saw her there.
“Hello, I am Russian,” one veteran CPAC attendee recalled...“What do you do? Who do you back for president?”
Charming. 🤮
“Hello, I am Russian,” one veteran CPAC attendee recalled...“What do you do? Who do you back for president?”
Charming. 🤮
"The CPAC veteran, who requested anonymity because of the ongoing investigation, recalled her as “friendly, curious and flirtatious.”
I'll bet! Bow-chica-wow-wow.
I'll bet! Bow-chica-wow-wow.
"She was like a novelty,” said Saul Anuzis, a former chairman of the Michigan Repub Party, who met Butina at...conservative events in 2016. “She ran a gun rights grp in Russia and...w/the kind of repression...your assumption was that was kind of a revolutionary, radical thing.”
(Yeah it was so radical because it was a completely fake, made up PSYOP, and you dumb MFs fell for it!)
"In a 2017 email to The WaPo, Butina argued that her group was “not very popular” with Russian officials. She said she received no funding from the Russian government. “No government official has EVER approached me about ‘fostering ties’ with any Americans,” she wrote."
LIES.
LIES.
"Igor Shmelyov, the chairman of the Russian group Butina founded, said her arrest came as a “great shock.”
“Maria is interested in guns, so of course her social circle is connected to this....To say that all this means she was lobbying for Russian interests is rather ridiculous”
“Maria is interested in guns, so of course her social circle is connected to this....To say that all this means she was lobbying for Russian interests is rather ridiculous”
"...according to the FBI, she spoke frequently w/a “high-level official in the RU gov't” about her efforts to broker better ties between Russia/U.S....In 3/16, she emailed an American contact that Putin’s administration had expressed approval for her and Torshin’s efforts..."
"Butina is currently in the US. She writes me that D. Trump (an NRA member) is truly in favor of cooperation w/RU,” Torshin tweeted in Russian in 2/16.
The following mo, she emailed an American contact that Torshin had recv'd approval from Putin’s admin for their efforts,"
The following mo, she emailed an American contact that Torshin had recv'd approval from Putin’s admin for their efforts,"
"On the night of Trump’s...victory...she msg'd Torshin, “I’m going to sleep. It’s 3 a.m. here. I am ready for further orders.”
Erickson lobbied for a role in Trump’s transition team and complained...when he ran into a problem with his security clearance,"
I wonder why? lol
Erickson lobbied for a role in Trump’s transition team and complained...when he ran into a problem with his security clearance,"
I wonder why? lol
"Even w/o offcl credentials, [Erickson] pressed Trump donors and former campaign offcls, pushing for top positions for people he thought especially qualified. One person recalled his lobbying to get KT McFarland named as an adviser to Flynn"
Interesting. He felt that invaluable.
Interesting. He felt that invaluable.
"Butina’s work in her role as a grad student at American University attracted notice as well. She sparked alarm at one Washington-area civil rights group in 6/17, when she asked to interview the group’s director about its vulnerability to cyberattacks for a school project."
DUMB
DUMB
"It was incredibly suspect activity,” said Jon Steinman, co-founder of HillCyber, a cybersecurity firm that consulted with the group. Steinman said he immediately contacted the FBI and was interviewed about the episode at length in 1/18."
"An American University spokesman confirmed that Butina grad'd w/a master’s...in 5/18...
With her degree in hand, Butina prep'd to leave DC for So Dakota...Then the FBI moved in."
They should strip her of that degree-it was obtained w/a student visa under false pretenses. <eot>
With her degree in hand, Butina prep'd to leave DC for So Dakota...Then the FBI moved in."
They should strip her of that degree-it was obtained w/a student visa under false pretenses. <eot>
Link back to orig Wapo piece by Rosalind S. Helderman, Tom Hamburger, Shane Harris and Carol D. Leonnig:
washingtonpost.com/politics/she-w…
washingtonpost.com/politics/she-w…
