美国国家公共电台 NPR Maria Butina, Accused Of Being Russian Agent, Reaches Plea Deal With Feds

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Maria Butina has reached a plea deal. She's the Russian woman accused of launching a secret political influence campaign in the United States. NPR national justice correspondent Carrie Johnson reports.

CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE¹: Images of the red-haired graduate student posing with weapons attracted international attention. Maria Butina has been in federal custody² since July. That's when the FBI arrested her for acting³ as a Russian agent on U.S. soil. Authorities say she hatched a plan to appeal to Republican political leaders by targeting events at the National Rifle Association and the National Prayer Breakfast.

Now, after about six months behind bars, Butina has reached a plea deal with the Justice Department. She's preparing to plead guilty to a single conspiracy⁴ charge for failing to register her activities with the attorney general. The deal calls for Butina's cooperation and her testimony⁵ before a grand jury. That could be bad news for her American boyfriend. He's Republican operative Paul Erickson. Erickson's been under investigation⁶ by authorities in Washington and South Dakota for months, but he has not been charged with wrongdoing.

Prosecutors⁷ say Butina's handler was a prominent Russian central banker, Alexander Torshin. Torshin became a life member of the NRA. He briefly⁸ met Donald Trump⁹ Jr. at an NRA convention in 2016. The U.S. government eventually put Torshin on a sanctions list, and Russian media reported he recently retired¹⁰ from his post.

Butina is due in court Wednesday afternoon. A judge needs to approve the plea agreement and, ultimately, to decide her punishment. Butina faces a maximum of five years in prison. But with no criminal record and cooperation, she could serve far less time. The plea deal indicates she'll be deported¹¹ back to Russia once she completes her sentence.

Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington.