MOSCOW: The Kremlin on Friday rejected as unfounded the US case against Russian national Maria Butina, who has pleaded guilty to acting as an illegal foreign agent in the United States.
“We consider the accusations against her as absolutely unfounded,” presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he had “reasons to believe” the Russian had been kept in conditions designed to break her will and lead her to enter a false guilty plea.
“As far as I understand, this plea bargain — the likes of which are common in the US — is part of a deal to get free and return home as soon as possible,” Lavrov said in comments reported by agencies.
Butina — the first Russian convicted in the sprawl of cases arising from Moscow’s interference in the 2016 presidential election — faces likely deportation after a potential sentence.
Prosecutors said she launched a plan in 2015 to develop ties with the Republican Party with the aim of influencing US foreign policy.
The plot was allegedly guided and financed in part by Alexander Torshin, an ally of President Vladimir Putin who was deputy governor of the Russian central bank until his retirement on November 30.
Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier in the week said he had asked Russian security services who Butina was.
“Nobody had heard anything about her. The only thing was that she did some work in the upper house of parliament for a while,” Putin said.
Butina was arrested in July this year and became a minor cause celebre in Russia, with the foreign ministry putting her picture at the top of their Twitter account with the hashtag “#FreeMariaButina.”
She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to not register as an agent of a foreign government, a charge often used against foreign spies. But there was no evidence presented that she worked for any of Moscow’s espionage agencies.
The conspiracy charge, and prosecutors’ vouching for her cooperation in a broader investigation, suggested others could be charged in relation to her case.
She is due to remain in US custody until her sentencing in February or later.
US charges against Russian Butina ‘unfounded’
US charges against Russian Butina ‘unfounded’
- The Russian foreign minster said he had “reasons to believe” Butina had been kept in conditions designed to break her will and lead her to enter a false guilty plea
- Butina pleaded guilty to conspiracy to not register as an agent of a foreign government, a charge often used against foreign spies
Man tackled to ground after spraying unknown substance on Rep. Ilhan Omar at Minneapolis town hall
- The audience cheered as he was pinned down and his arms were tied behind his back
MINNEAPOLIS: A man wearing a black jacket was tackled to the ground after spraying an unknown substance on US Rep. Ilhan Omar at a town hall she was hosting in Minneapolis on Tuesday.
The audience cheered as he was pinned down and his arms were tied behind his back. In video of the incident, someone in the crowd can be heard saying, “Oh my god, he sprayed something on her.” Omar continued the town hall after the man was ushered out of the room.
Just before that Omar called for the abolishment of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign. “ICE cannot be reformed,” she said.
Minneapolis police did not immediately respond to a phone call and email message seeking information on the incident and whether anyone was arrested.
The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Tuesday night.
President Donald Trump has frequently criticized the congresswoman and has stepped up verbal attacks on her in recent months as he turned his focus on Minneapolis.
During a Cabinet meeting in December, he called her “garbage” and added that “her friends are garbage.”
Hours earlier on Tuesday, the president criticized Omar as he spoke to a crowd in Iowa, saying his administration would only let in immigrants who “can show that they love our country.”
“They have to be proud, not like Ilhan Omar,” he said, drawing loud boos at the mention of her name.
He added: “She comes from a country that’s a disaster. So probably, it’s considered, I think — it’s not even a country.”
Fellow US Rep. Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina, R-S.C., denounced the assault on Omar.
“I am deeply disturbed to learn that Rep. Ilhan Omar was attacked at a town hall today” Mace said via the social platform X. “Regardless of how vehemently I disagree with her rhetoric — and I do — no elected official should face physical attacks. This is not who we are.”
The attack came days after a man was arrested in Utah for allegedly punching US Rep. Maxwell Frost, a Democrat from Florida, in the face during the Sundance Film Festival and saying Trump was going to deport him.
