She faces a maximum of five years in prison, but she won't be sentenced immediately. Her cooperation could lead to a reduced sentence. The charges were filed by the Justice Department's national security unit and US prosecutors in Washington, rather than by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian influence in the election. As part of the plea agreement, Butina may provide information about Paul Erickson, her onetime boyfriend. Erickson matches the description of a man referred to as "US Person 1" in Butina's charging documents. Erickson connected her with influential Republicans and wrote in a message that he had been involved "in securing a VERY private line of communication between the Kremlin" and key officials of the NRA, prosecutors said. Butina infiltrated the top levels ofthe National Rifle Association and the Republican Party. Credit:AP Erickson has visited Butina in jail several times this year, according to her attorney, Robert Driscoll. Bill Hurd, Erickson's lawyer, said his client is "a good American" who "has never done anything to hurt our country and never would".

Her admission added to the drumbeat of developments in investigations related to the 2016 presidential election, with indications that prosecutors are receiving information from several people close to President Donald Trump. Loading This week, Trump's longtime fixer Michael Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison and said he'd assist prosecutors, and the President's former national security adviser Michael Flynn acknowledged he'd sat for 19 interviews with prosecutors and provided thousands of pages of documents. American Media Inc, a tabloid publisher