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Zoe Tillman @ZoeTillman
, 5 tweets, 2 min read Read on Twitter
Alleged Russian agent Maria Butina is due back in court this afternoon. Butina's lawyers are argung to have her released pending trial. The government is asking for a gag order for her laywers. Previously on a judge's decision to detain her: buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…
Update:
- The judge denied Maria Butina's motion to reconsider her pretrial detention, agreeing w/ earlier finding that there were no release conditions that would ensure she doesn't try to flee
- The judge imposed a gag order, finding comments by Butina's lawyer crossed a line
The judge did ding the govt for making the "rather salacious" claim that Butina offered sex for a position and then walking it back, saying it took her five minutes after reading the messages to conclude they were a joke. Judge said she was "dismayed" by govt's handling
Alleged Russian agent Maria Butina had a bad day in court today: She lost her latest effort to get out of jail pending trial, and the judge imposed a gag order after finding that her lawyer's repeat press appearances "crossed a line" buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…
The judge also dinged Butina's lawyers for submitting videos hours before the hearing, incl. one of Butina and her boyfriend Paul Erickson lip syncing to "Beauty and the Beast" — the judge found it was not relevant to whether Butina should stay behind bars buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…
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Hello on this mild morning from the DC Council, which is scheduled to vote today on the LOVE Act -- emergency legislation that would make it possible for couples to get a DC marriage license during the federal govt shutdown (background: buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…)
At the DC Council this a.m. waiting for a vote on the LOVE Act, and listening to Councilmember Grosso intro a bill to legalize and regulate sales of marijuana. "This council should be unapologetic in pursuing what is best for our constituents." Background: dcist.com/story/19/01/07…
The LOVE Act is up — this emergency legislation will make it possible for couples to get a marriage license in DC during the govt shutdown. It's being introduced by Councilmember Brandon Todd at the request of DC Mayor Muriel Bowser
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NEW: The federal judiciary now expects to have enough money from other sources to keep the courts largely business-as-usual during the shutdown through Jan. 18 (previously it was Jan. 11) — this is the latest from the Administrative Office of the US Courts (HT @hsu_spencer)
In order to make the funds that the judiciary does have (absent a congressional appropriation) last as long as possible, "courts have been asked to delay or defer non-mission critical expenses, such as new hires, non-case related travel, and certain contracts"
DOJ, of course, is already affected by the shutdown, so most judges have been approving requests or issuing blanket orders to delay civil litigation involving the federal govt during the shutodwn (criminal cases still have to proceed as usual)
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Some fireworks in court this morning as a judge criticized the lawyer representing Concord Management & Consulting in the special counsel Russian troll farm case for his language and harsh words about Mueller's office in filings — "unprofessional, inappropriate, and ineffective"
The judge told attorney Eric Dubelier that his strategy was "ineffective" and that his approach to filings — including pop culture quotes (see: assets.documentcloud.org/documents/5676…) and accusing Mueller's office basically of lawlessness — was "undermining your credibility in this courthouse"
"Knock it off," Judge Dabney Friedrich told Dubelier. This then led to a heated exchange where Dubelier said he needed to consult his client since the judge had accused of unprofessional conduct, and now there might be bias from the judge. There's no bias, the judge replied.
Read 6 tweets

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JUST IN: Maria Butina will stay in detention pending trial.
Here’s @ZoeTillman on today’s Butina hearing —> Alleged Russian Agent Maria Butina Will Stay In Jail And Her Lawyer Can’t Talk To The Press Anymore buzzfeed.com/zoetillman/all…
And here’s @VeraMBergen on new info made public this weekend about the “calculated five-year effort to make inroads with prominent Republicans” that behind Maria Butina’s case —> buzzfeednews.com/article/verabe…
Read 3 tweets
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There's always more >> Accused spy Maria #Butina turned on her Russian charm to secure Russian jet fuel deal with David Keene, NRA president & prominent leader of the conservative movement, his lobbyist wife, & her boyfriend Erickson — The New York Times nytimes.com/2018/09/02/us/…
THREAD on sloppy NYT piece on #Butina. See @john_sipher who says she's not a professional spy but an 'access agent teeing up fools for Russia to compromise.' She develops access & provides targeting information to the professionals, so they know who's vulnerable, who to go after.
@john_sipher There are spies and there are spies. Russia has a dizzying array of intelligence agents, special services & proxies, formal professionals & informal agents like Maria #Butina. @KirkseniyaSF reviews some of the nuances in @KyivPost kyivpost.com/article/opinio… cc @SethAbramson @nytimes
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Alleged Russian agent Maria Butina and GOP operator Paul Erickson left a trail of cash - new docs on transactions of up to $300K provides new info on Russian campaign to influence American politics, by @jasonleopold & @a_cormier_ HT @ThomasS4217 buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonl…
About $89,000 passed between Erickson’s US accounts and one held by Butina at Russia’s Alfa Bank - the sanctioned bank run by Mikhail Fridman, which had communicated with the server in Trump Tower & DeVos connected Spectrum Healthcare in MI
buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonl…
Erickson sent two wires for $15,000 to a California company established by the son and brother of Jack Abramoff, a disgraced former lobbyist who is Erickson’s longtime friend, political ally, and business partner
buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonl…
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Alleged Russian agent Maria Butina had ties to Russian intelligence agency, prosecutors say.
wapo.st/2mt7yNy
It's worth noting, Maria Butina the alleged Russian spy with *deep* ties to the NRA, who claimed multiple times in public to be a back channel between Trump and the Kremlin was arrested and charged by the DOJ, but not by the Mueller team.
The gun-loving, NRA connected, Russian woman charged with being an unregistered foreign agent for Russia and cozying up to politicians to infiltrate the U.S. political system tried to swap sex for influence nbcnews.com/news/crime-cou…
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🔥In the charging documents for accused #Russian🇷🇺agent Maria Butina, the unnamed “US Person 1” — who established a “VERY private line of communication btwn the Kremlin & key [@GOP] leaders through, of all conduits, the #NRA” — appears to be #GOP consultant Paul Erickson. 1/
💣BOOM💣

Note that #DOJ says that “US Person 1” arranged the secret backchannel btwn the Kremlin and **key @GOP leaders** (not just Team Trump).🔥

How many people in the #GOP freaked out when they read that Butina got busted⁉️ 2/

#RICO
#ComplicitGOP

Mueller is investigating the alleged flow of ILLEGAL foreign (#Russian🇷🇺) money for @GOP campaigns via the #NRA.

Don’t think for a moment that at least some #Republicans didn’t know where the #NRA’s sudden influx of cash came from.🙄 3/

Read 5 tweets

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#DavidHockney #ComplicitGOP #PutinPimp8 #TeamTrumpTraitors #PAMFAM #ThePatriotTimes #TeamProvokatsiya #VoteForOurLives #TakingDownTheMobsters #BlackCube #Butina #PAM #Putin #TeamNutShellReport #EdgarDegas #NeverForget #TrumpRussia #Hypocrisy #TeamDeza #BohoSquad #Maddow #VoteBLUE2018 #FBI110 #Traitors #TeamPatriot

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