The latest complaint against Mariia Butina says she was working under the direction of a high-level official in the Russian government and Russian central bank | AP Photo U.S. adds second charge against Russian national linked to NRA A federal grand jury indicted Mariia Butina on Tuesday on charges of conspiracy and acting as a foreign agent, adding a new charge against the Russian national, who was arrested over the weekend in Washington and accused of playing a part in a secret Russian attempt to influence U.S. politics. Jessie Liu, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, signed off on the two-count indictment against Butina, 29, who is accused of working as an unregistered Kremlin agent from at least 2015 through the present day. Butina had been charged Monday with conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government, an offense with a statutory maximum of five years in prison. On Tuesday, U.S. officials persuaded the grand jury to add the second offense of acting as the foreign agent, which has its own 10-year-maximum prison sentence. Like the charging documents released Monday, the latest complaint against Butina says she was working under the direction of a high-level official in the Russian government and Russian central bank “to arrange introductions to U.S. persons having influence in American politics, including an organization promoting gun rights … for the purpose of advancing the interests of the Russian Federation.” While the indictment doesn’t name the Russian official or the gun rights group, it appears to refer to Alexander Torshin, an associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a longtime supporter of the National Rifle Association who also reportedly has ties to both Russian security services and organized crime figures. Robert Driscoll, an attorney for Butina, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the new indictment. On Monday, he issued a statement disputing the initial charge and said his client, a recent college graduate, was not “seeking to influence or undermine any specific policy or law of the United States — only at most to promote a better relationship between the two nations.” Butina is scheduled to appear at a Wednesday afternoon hearing before Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson at the federal courthouse in Washington.<doc-sep>(CNN) — The Justice Department charged a Russian national who, along with her mentor, aimed to set up backchannel communications during the presidential campaign between Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, with conspiring against the US as a foreign agent. Mariia Butina, also known as Maria, was arrested on Sunday and appeared in court in Washington, DC, on Monday, according to the Justice Department. She’ll be detained for three days until her next court appearance. She and her mentor, Kremlin-linked banker Alexander Torshin, spent three years trying to make inroads with US political organizations and operatives to develop a more conciliatory approach to Russia among American politicians, according to court filings and CNN reporting. Torshin and Butina feared the end of the Obama administration in 2016, and targeted Republicans, according to court filings. Facebook/Maria Butina Maria Butina at the NRA Annual Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, April 2015. Their primary avenue of influence appeared to be the National Rifle Association, according to CNN reporting and court filings, though the organization is not explicitly referred to by name in the legal documents. Torshin bragged both publicly and privately that he and Butina were the only Russians who were also lifetime members of the NRA, and they leveraged their relationship with the NRA’s leadership to foster relationships with Republican Party leaders, American politicians and business leaders. They even used their connection to try to establish a covert communications channel between then-candidate Trump and Putin. The NRA did not respond to a request for comment. Butina’s arrest is the latest dizzying development related to Russia in recent days and was revealed only about three hours after President Donald Trump’s press conference in Helsinki, in which he shocked the world by siding with Putin rather than his own intelligence agencies regarding election meddling by Russia’s spy agencies in the 2016. The charges against Butina were filed by prosecutors from the Justice Department’s national security division – not special counsel Robert Mueller’s office – and offer yet another glimpse into the wide variety of methods Moscow employed to try to influence the US political climate ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Butina’s arrest comes on the heels of Mueller’s move on Friday to indict 12 members of Russia’s military intelligence service over a hacking and influence operation. Prosecutors decided to move on Butina this weekend because there was information she was about to leave the Washington, DC, area, according to a US official. Savvy student or a spy? Butina’s attorney, Robert N. Driscoll, denied that Butina was “an agent of the Russian Federation” in a statement on Monday, and insisted the charge levied against her was “overblown.” He described her as a bright, recent graduate of American University in Washington “with a Masters Degree in International Relations and a 4.0 grade point average.” American University officials confirmed to CNN earlier this year that in fall 2016, Butina enrolled in the school’s graduate program for international affairs. “There is simply no indication of Butina seeking to influence of undermine any specific policy or law (of) the United States – only at most to promote a better relationship between the two nations,” Driscoll said. Driscoll decried the government’s tactics in dealing with his client, protesting that her Sunday arrest was made “without prior notice to counsel” and after multiple offers to assist the Justice Department, who did not “avail itself of that opportunity.” Back in April, more than a dozen FBI agents executed a search warrant at Butina’s Washington apartment, Driscoll said. Butina’s lawyer said she has cooperated with government authorities for months and voluntarily testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee for eight hours. He added that Butina produced thousands of documents to the Senate panel and has offered to interview with Mueller’s office, “which has not expressed interest.” Mueller’s office declined to comment on whether it was involved in the investigation of Butina. Inside an alleged Russian influence operation The affidavit in the Butina case describes several steps the 29-year-old alleged Russian agent took to reach the Republican Party through the NRA, to host dinners between Russians and Americans, and to infiltrate the National Prayer Breakfast and other political conferences in 2016 and 2017. According to the Justice Department, Butina was working at the direction of a high-level official in the Russian government. While the official was not named in the indictment, it appears to be Torshin. Previously a member of the Russian legislature, Torshin later worked as a top official at the Central Bank of Russia. He was among the Russian officials the US government slapped with sanctions in April 2018 as part of an effort to punish the Russian government for “malign activity” around the world. Butina and Torshin “took steps to develop relationships with American politicians in order to establish private, or as she called them, ‘back channel’ lines of communication,” an FBI affidavit filed in court says. “These lines could be used by the Russian Federation to penetrate the US national decision-making apparatus to advance the agenda of the Russian Federation.” One unnamed American that Butina corresponded with described a possible “VERY” private line of communication between the Kremlin and the Republican Party through the NRA. She also discussed with the American “an advisors team on Russia for a new president” two months before the US election in 2016. CNN has previously reported that during the presidential campaign, Torshin worked with his protégé, Butina, as well as other associates, to try to arrange back-channel communications between Putin and then-candidate Trump. Those efforts appear to have been rebuffed by members of the Trump campaign, according to previous CNN reporting and documents that were provided to the House Intelligence Committee. Torshin and Butina often used their NRA ties to try to bolster Russian interests. In one instance, Torshin aimed to meet with Trump around the 2016 NRA convention in Louisville, Kentucky. The meeting never took place, but Torshin and Butina did cross paths with Donald Trump Jr. at a dinner on the sidelines of the event.<doc-sep>A Russian woman is the latest person to be charged in the ongoing federal investigation into meddling in the 2016 US election. Maria Butina is accused of "infiltrating organisations having influence in American politics, for the purpose of advancing the interests of the Russian Federation". She joins a slew of Russians and Trump campaign officials indicted in the investigation led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, including intelligence officers and hackers allegedly linked to coordinated attacks on the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and personal offices. Recommended 12 Russian officers indicted for hacking Democrat emails in election Last week, the Justice Department announced a dozen indictments against Russian intelligence officers. Several of those officers were allegedly involved in attempts to infiltrate emails associated with Ms Clinton’s personal offices – the same day Mr Trump called on Russia to locate the former secretary of state's supposedly missing emails. Ms Butina can be seen in video recordings at one of Mr Trump’s rallies in 2015 asking the president a question about his goals with US-Russian relations. Mr Trump responded that he’d consider lifting sanctions against the Kremlin, telling her: “I believe I would get along very nicely with Putin... I don't think you'd need the sanctions.” Ms Butina’s advocacy for guns and interest in American politics is well-documented, with the Washington Post describing her as a “photogenic activist” who “founded a group called the Right to Bear Arms” in 2017. At the time, Ms Butina denied working as a foreign agent or representing Russian interests. “No government official has EVER approached me about ‘fostering ties’ with any Americans,” she wrote in an email to the Post. Ms Butina, who was arrested on Friday as the indictment of 12 other Russians was publicly revealed, is also accused of having “worked at the direction of a high-level official in the Russian government who was previously a member of the legislature of the Russian Federation and later became a top official at the Russian Central Bank". The Justice Department said in its complaint that Ms Butina worked with two unnamed US citizens and the Russian official to try to influence American politics and infiltrate a pro-gun rights organisation. The complaint did not name the group, however photos on her Facebook page showed that she attended events sponsored by the National Rifle Association (NRA). The NRA did not return requests for comment. 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The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona.<doc-sep>Russia expert Casey Michel explained on Thursday that the indictment of Russian citizen Maria Butina this week sheds light on a larger effort from Moscow to infiltrate U.S. politics. "This is one part of a broader interference operation," Michel, who is a reporter for Think Progress, told Hill.TV's Krystal Ball and Buck Sexton on "Rising." "Everything that the [Department of Justice] laid out in its complaints, in its indictment against Maria Butina, is some of the most detailed looks at some of the relationships that have been built up, the types of relationships, how they went about doing it, and just what they achieved with it," he continued. The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Monday that Butina, who had been living in Washington, D.C., was being charged with conspiring to work for the Kremlin by pursuing relationships and infiltrating organizations that influence U.S. politics. Butina was allegedly in close communication with a senior Russian official about her work. “The court filings detail the Russian official’s and Butina’s efforts for Butina to act as an agent of Russia inside the United States by developing relationships with U.S. persons and infiltrating organizations having influence in American politics, for the purpose of advancing the interests of the Russian Federation,” the DOJ said in a press release. Butina was arrested Sunday and appeared in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Monday. A judge on Wednesday ordered that she remain in jail until her trial as a potential flight risk. The indictment came as President Trump Donald TrumpTrump lashes out after grand jury seated for New York criminal probe Schumer tees up vote on Jan. 6 commission bill Senators struggle to save Jan. 6 commission MORE cast doubt, during a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin, on the U.S. intelligence community's assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election. The next day, Trump said he trusts the intelligence community's conclusion. On Friday, special counsel Robert Mueller Robert (Bob) MuellerSenate Democrats urge Garland not to fight court order to release Trump obstruction memo Why a special counsel is guaranteed if Biden chooses Yates, Cuomo or Jones as AG Barr taps attorney investigating Russia probe origins as special counsel MORE, who is probing Russian interference, indicted 12 Russian intelligence officers in the 2016 hacking of the Democratic National Committee. — Julia Manchester<doc-sep>
The same day President Donald Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki and suggested that he believed Russia's claim that it did not interfere in the 2016 presidential elections, the Justice Department indicted another Russian for attempting to influence U.S. politics. Maria Butina, a 29-year-old Russian woman who lives in Washington, D.C., was arrested on Sunday and charged with conspiracy to act as an agent of the Russian government, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Monday. "While serving as Special Assistant to an official of the Russian Federation, Butina would meet in person and communicate via electronic means with that official for the purpose of developing and executing a plan to identify and exploit personal connections with U.S. persons having influence in American politics who were in positions to advance the interests of the Russian Federation," the complaint reads. When Butina spoke at the University of South Dakota in 2015, she was described simply as (surprise) an arms rights advocate: pic.twitter.com/voKF1JraTq — Casey Michel 🇰🇿 (@cjcmichel) July 16, 2018 Butina is a well-known activist with the National Rifle Association (NRA) and is closely linked with Paul Erickson, a longtime Republican figure who said he was an adviser for Trump's transition team. She is also an assistant to Alexander Torshin, the deputy governor of Russia's central bank who requested an interview with Trump at the NRA's 2016 convention. Torshin did not secure a meeting with then-candidate Trump, but he did meet briefly with Donald Trump Jr. It is still unknown what the two men discussed, but the president's son has said the conversation was inconsequential. The indictment does not name Torshin, but he is widely believed to be the unnamed Russian official mentioned. He maintained a longstanding relationship with Butina, who was enrolled as a graduate student at the American University in Washington and recently graduated with a master's degree in international relations. Russian National Charged in Conspiracy to Act as an Agent of the Russian Federation Within the United States https://t.co/6No8kas6Yk — Justice Department (@TheJusticeDept) July 16, 2018 Butina later reportedly bragged that she had put members of the Trump campaign in touch with the Kremlin. Both Torshin and Butina have allegedly been involved with the GOP since 2015, and experts say that the case against Butina is likely related to Russia's attempts to infiltrate the Republican Party through the NRA. The pro-gun association contributed at least $30 million to the Trump campaign. The Senate Judiciary Committee requested documents related to Russia and the NRA in late 2017. Several months later, reports revealed that the FBI was also looking into whether Torshin, an ally of Putin, was funneling money into the NRA that was later directed to the Trump campaign. No charges have been brought against Torshin yet, but he is currently under U.S. sanctions. Many photos with Aleksandr Torshin pic.twitter.com/mkhTC1S9wX — Liveuamap (@Liveuamap) July 16, 2018 On Friday, special counsel Robert Mueller indicted 12 Russian military intelligence officials for allegedly hacking into the computer servers of Hillary Clinton when she was running for president in 2016. Mueller's team has been investigating whether the Trump campaign collaborated with Russia to influence the outcome of the 2016 election, including through hacking Democratic Party officials. Despite the unanimous conclusion of U.S. intelligence agencies that the Russian government ordered the interference in the election, Trump has continued to cast doubt on the findings and suggested that he believed Putin more than his own aides. Monday's press conference with Putin was widely criticized by analysts and former government officials in Washington. In April 2015, Torshin and Butina traveled to Tennessee to attend a fundraiser for a political group backing the presidential campaign of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, then viewed as a leading contender for the GOP nomination. pic.twitter.com/pkByBhBpDy — SeriouslyUS? (@USseriously) November 23, 2017 Butina will remain in custody until her court hearing, scheduled for July 18.