Maria Butina, a Russian gun rights proponent who cultivated close ties to the National Rifle Association of America and conservative political figures, pleaded guilty Thursday to acting as an agent of the Russian government.
The plea makes Butina, a former graduate student at American University, the first Russian national convicted of trying to covertly influence U.S. policy during the the 2016 election, although her case was not handled by special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into the Kremlin’s election meddling efforts.
As part of her deal, Butina agreed to cooperate with investigators. Her cooperation could shed light on Russian efforts to gain a …read more
Source: European Voice
