US judge orders accused Russian agent Butina jailed

During a hearing in US District Court for the District of Columbia, prosecutors showed a photo of Butina meeting an alleged Russian intelligence operative at a Washington restaurant.

Maria Butina, who studied at American University in Washington and is a founder of the pro-gun Russian advocacy group Right to Bear Arms, was arrested on Sunday and accused of operating at the direction of a high-level official who worked for the Russian Central Bank and was recently sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the Justice Department said.

The court records did not name the official.

Butina has appeared in numerous photographs on her Facebook page with Alexander Torshin, the deputy head of Russia’s Central Bank who was sanctioned by the US Treasury Department in April. A person familiar with the matter told Reuters that Butina worked for him as an assistant. Other media reported on a business relationship between Butina and Torshin.

The investigation into Butina’s efforts to influence American politics was overseen by the Justice Department’s National Security Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and not by Mueller’s office.