As gleaned from her online footprint, Butina introduced herself as a Russian gun rights activist eager to befriend gun rights advocates in the United States. She attended several events of the National Rifle Association and other conservative events. She was in a personal relationship with Paul Erickson, a conservative political activist, who was in a position to introduce her to people in political circles.
Trump’s Answer Shows His Position on Russia
Butina allegedly tried—and failed—to organize a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and then-candidate Donald Trump ahead of the 2016 election.The closest Butina appears to have gotten to Trump was in 2015, when he spoke at the FreedomFest event and she asked him a question from the audience.
Introducing herself as a Russian visitor, she asked what would be Trump’s policy toward her country and whether he’d “continue the politics of sanctions.”
Trump started his answer by criticizing disadvantageous trade relations with other countries, even countries that show no favor to the United States.
“Everybody hates us and yet they make money with us,” he said. “With me, we’re going to make money on them and they’re going to like us.”
“I believe I would get along very nicely with Putin, okay? And I mean where we have the strength. I don’t think you’d need the sanctions. I think that we would get along very, very well.”
Mixed Relations With Russia
Since becoming U.S. President, Trump has had mixed relations with Russia.In April, the Trump administration issued sanctions targeting Russian oligarchs and 12 companies they control or own, as well as 17 senior Russian government officials, and a state-owned Russian company that sells arms.
In March, Trump ordered the expulsion of dozens of Russian intelligence officers from the United States in response to Russia’s suspected use of a military-grade chemical weapon in the UK.
Trump also ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle.
Butina was arrested on July 15, one day before the Trump-Putin summit. She has been in custody and solitary confinement since. The Russian government denounced her detention and dismissed the charges against her.
The new filings do not specify how Butina plans to change her plea, but the only charge she faces is the “conspiracy to act as an agent of the Russian Federation.” The maximum penalty is five years in prison and she is likely to earn leniency if she pleads guilty.