A U.S. District judge agreed with the proposed sentencing guidelines submitted by prosecutors on Friday morning and sentenced Russian agent Maria Butina to 18 months on a charge of conspiracy. When her sentence is completed, Butina will be deported back to Russia, and will not be allowed to enter the United States for at least a decade.
Butina received the full sentence as proposed in sentencing guidelines despite cooperating with prosecutors. That’s a marked difference from the treatment Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort received when a judge gave him just a fraction of the requested sentence.
In preparing their sentencing guidelines, prosecutors described Butina as an “access agent” whose role wasn’t that of a traditional spy—directly obtaining secret information—but building up relationships and contacts that Russia could later exploit. Though Butina had originally claimed to be working as a private citizen, she pleaded guilty to the charge and admitted that she had acted “for the benefit of the Russian Federation.”
Butina’s connections with the NRA and with Republican officials gave her access to the top tiers of conservative officials. Attached to the sentencing guidelines for Butina’s was an addendum that described the situation as “grim.” Butina didn’t just gain access, she found numerous officials in the NRA and the Republican Party who were eager to conspire with Moscow. Butina’s actions were just one of the many ways that Russia reached out to make contacts within the Republican Party, including dozens of contacts that occurred within the Trump campaign.
Connections with Butina appear to have roiled the leadership of the NRA. Among those who accompanied her to Moscow were former sheriff and Trump supporter David Clarke.
