Alleged Russian spy Maria Butina has reached a plea agreement in federal court that includes her cooperating with “any ongoing investigations.”
Butina will plead guilty to conspiracy for working with Republican operative Paul Erickson and a Russian official to establish unofficial lines of communication between US politicians and the Kremlin, according to ABC News.
The Russian official, Alexander Torshin, allegedly directed Butina to conspire with Erikson on infiltrating the NRA and other organizations with influence in US politics. She also joined with Torshin to send an e-mail to the Trump campaign trying to broker a meeting with Vladimir Putin.
The flame-haired Butina, 30, posted images on Instagram standing with politicians and displaying firearms at NRA conventions.
She and Erikson were also in a long-term romantic relationship.
After her arrest in July, prosecutors claimed that Butina cultivated a “duplicitous relationship” with Erikson in order to gain access to US political organizations.
J.D. Gordon, a member of Trump’s campaign, also socialized with Butina.
They exchanged e-mails in September and October of 2016. and the 50-year-old Gordon invited Butina to a Styx concert.
The plea agreement, signed on Saturday, carries a maximum sentence of five years — although Butina could get a more lenient penalty for her cooperation, the ABC report said.
It was not clear in which investigations Butina might serve as a cooperating witness.
Butina twice attempted and failed to set up a meeting between Trump and Putin in 2016.
The effort once made its way to Jared Kushner, who was invited via e-mail to meet with Torshin and ultimately with Putin. Kushner, however, did not take the meeting.
Butina regularly appeared at GOP events.
Posing as a curious citizen, she asked then-candidate Trump a question about sanctions with Russia in 2015 at an event in Las Vegas.
“Do you want to continue the politics of sanctions that are damaging on both economies?” she asked.
Trump responded with a positive attitude toward Russia.
