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Mueller was so desperate to find a scapegoat for "Russian interference" that he sent staff to interview Maria Butina in jail, in January of this year. Of course, she had no knowledge of "collusion." But she's still sitting in jail, as a political prisoner spectator.us/maria-butina-c…
Trump has generally wielded his pardon power horribly but one person who would deserve a pardon 100% is Maria Butina. She was railroaded by overzealous, politically-motivated prosecutors for conduct that under most circumstances would not be regarded as remotely criminal
I’m incredibly disgusted by the journalists, such as @7im of Rolling Stone, who assisted prosecutors in their vile quest to steamroll Butina. They hurled smears and wild theories about spycraft and “honeypots” that turned out to be total BS. Just parroting what they were fed
Tim hasn’t responded to me but guess what @7im, your sleazy and sexist smears are on the record. “Femme fatale”? You should be ashamed of yourself 
Maria has filed an appeal and started a defense fund: mariabutinafund.com
Remember: not a spy, not a "honeypot," had nothing to do with "Russian interference," was subjected to months of solitary confinement, and most recently was shipped out to a remote jail in Oklahoma
Remember: not a spy, not a "honeypot," had nothing to do with "Russian interference," was subjected to months of solitary confinement, and most recently was shipped out to a remote jail in Oklahoma
I find this case so infuriating on so many levels -- utterly despicable conduct by prosecutors, the judge, and most egregiously the media -- that you'll have to excuse me if I extend this thread longer. Someone's life was destroyed based on a pack of lies. It's nauseating
Fundamentally this is about abusive, punitive state power being cynically wielded to satisfy a political vendetta. For “progressives” to have no concern at all is disgraceful. Republicans don’t seem to care much either. Butina has been completely abandoned. Cowardly and pathetic
I firmly believe that when historians analyze with critical distance the moral panic that has consumed American political and media consciousness since 2016, Maria Butina is going to be identified as one of its chief and most blatant victims
