Maria Butina. She worked for Russia, while others said she was on the Trump transition team. This video tells you what you need to know. #NeedtoImpeach https://t.co/V6LX5c1utp https://t.co/fe17DTvdsc pic.twitter.com/3TN92nojBF
— Need To Impeach (@Need2Impeach) April 30, 2018
Maria Butina, NRA member and Russian gun rights activist, was arrested on July 15 and charged with conspiracy to act as a Russian Federation agent within the United States.
She is a very problematic character in the Russia investigation.
She and Russian mobster Alexander Torshin attended NRA conventions in 2014 & 2015. Butina worked for Torshin at Russia’s central bank. They also founded their Russian gun rights group together.
Watch: Why aren’t we talking about Alexander Torshin
Butina’s group paid for Sheriff David Clarke’s 2015 NRA trip to Russia, where Sheriff Clarke met Torshin and Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister.
In May 2016, Butina and Torshin tried to set up a meeting between Putin and Trump. Days later, NRA member Paul Erickson also tried to set up a backchannel for Trump and Putin. Erickson and Butina are friends, and incorporated a shell company together.
At Butina’s Trump inauguration party, Erickson told guests that Butina was on Trump’s transition team.
Butina also said in grad school that she was part of the Trump campaign’s contact with Russia.
Cronyism
Donald Trump has assembled the most unqualified and corrupt cabinet in modern American history. His administration’s unabashed and unchecked cronyism has created a government of officials with no experience in the offices they oversee.