No one speaks upon Michigan.
This is not an exchange.
This is due process.
#FreeMariaButina
 |
| Mariia Butina |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Convicted Russian agent Maria Butina was released from a Florida prison on Friday after serving most of her 18-month sentence for conspiring to influence U.S. conservative activists and infiltrate a powerful gun rights group, and taken into custody by immigration officials to be deported to her native country.
Convicted Russian agent Maria Butina is accompanied by federal agents after her release from a Florida prison, during her transfer onto a jet bound for Moscow at Miami International Airport in Miami, Florida, U.S. October 25, 2019. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Handout via REUTERS.
Butina, 31, had been scheduled for release from the low-security prison in Tallahassee in early November, but a change in federal law moved up her release date based on credit for good behavior, her attorney Robert Driscoll said.
A prison official confirmed she was released on Friday morning and taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities.
She left Miami International Airport on a direct flight to Moscow at about 6 p.m. (2200 GMT), ICE said in a statement.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously expressed “outrage” over Butina’s prison sentence and said she did not carry out any orders from Russian security services.
Butina, a former graduate student at American University in Washington who publicly advocated for gun rights, pleaded guilty in December to one count of conspiring to act as a foreign agent and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
The Siberia native admitted to conspiring with a Russian official and two Americans to infiltrate the National Rifle Association, a group closely aligned with U.S. conservatives and Republican politicians including President Donald Trump, and create unofficial lines of communication to try to shape Washington’s policy toward Moscow.
Her 18-month sentence included nine months she spent incarcerated after her July 2018 arrest.
Butina’s case was separate from former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, which detailed numerous contacts between Trump’s campaign and Russia. Her activities occurred during the same period as the contacts investigated by Mueller.
RUSSIAN OFFICIAL
The Russian official with whom Butina conspired was later identified as Alexander Torshin, a deputy governor of Russia’s central bank. He was never charged in the case, but was hit with sanctions by the U.S. Treasury Department.
One of the two Americans referenced in her case was conservative political activist Paul Erickson, her boyfriend. Erickson was not charged for his links to Butina, but was indicted on unrelated wire fraud and money laundering charges in South Dakota. The case against Erickson is still pending.
In addition, Overstock.com (OSTK.O) Chief Executive Officer Patrick Byrne resigned in August after confirming a report by Fox News contributor Sara Carter that he also had an intimate relationship with Butina.
Federal prosecutors have said Butina did not engage in “traditional” spy craft, but worked behind the scenes to make inroads in conservative political circles and promote friendlier U.S.-Russian relations. She arranged dinners in Washington and New York and attended events to meet prominent politicians.
Butina in 2015 appeared at a Trump campaign event and asked him a question about whether he wanted better relations with Russia. Trump responded by telling Butina that he would “get along very nicely with Putin.”
Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs last year accused the United States of forcing Butina to make a false confession to “absolutely ridiculous charges” of being a Russian agent.
Slideshow (2 Images)
“It’s not clear what she was convicted of or what crime she committed,” Putin said in April. “I think it’s a prime example of ‘saving face.’ They arrested her and put the girl in jail. But there was nothing on her, so in order not to look totally stupid they gave her, fixed her up, with an 18-month sentence to show that she was guilty of something.”
Asked whether Washington now expects Russia to release a former U.S. Marine named Paul Whelan currently being held on accusations of espionage, a State Department spokesperson said, “We continue to urge the Russian government to ensure a fair trial, including a fair and public hearing without undue delay, in accordance with its international legal obligations.”
A Russian court on Thursday ordered Whelan, detained in 2018, held in custody until Dec. 29.
Whelan, who holds American, British, Canadian and Irish passports, has denied the espionage allegations.
Media caption'My human rights are being violated and my life threatened'
Ten months after his arrest on espionage charges in Moscow, ex-US marine Paul Whelan has said he is more like naive, fictional buffoon Mr Bean than suave spy James Bond.
Russia says he was caught red-handed with state secrets on electronic files.
A judge extended his pre-trial detention until 29 December.
As the judge delivered his ruling, Mr Whelan defied orders to keep quiet, reading a statement from a cage guarded by an FSB officer in a balaclava.
"Russia says it caught James Bond on a spy mission. In reality, they abducted Mr Bean on holiday," Mr Whelan told the court.
A regular visitor to Russia, who made many friends over the years, Paul Whelan was detained at the Metropol hotel in December. He says he was getting ready for a wedding when an old friend turned up unexpectedly. Moments later, security officers burst in and arrested him for receiving state secrets.
Mr Whelan claims the flash drive they found was planted by the friend: an FSB officer he believes betrayed him.
His lawyers, who are now working their way through several thousand pages of the case files - including surveillance material - say they've still seen nothing to prove his guilt.
He has become increasingly defiant at his court appearances, a rare few hours out of his prison cell every three months.
Media captionRussia spy case: Is Paul Whelan a hostage of Russia or a spy?
This time he told the BBC the case against him was "a joke".
"This is just a hostage situation," he said in court.
The American, who also holds British, Irish and Canadian passports, suspects he's a victim of plummeting relations between Russia and the West. Some have speculated that Moscow wants to swap him for a Russian prisoner abroad, though the Foreign Ministry here denies that.
Its spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, insists he was caught red-handed. "We have the facts," she said last week.
At his latest hearing, the ex-Marine requested the prosecutor and judge be replaced for their failure to investigate his claims of ill treatment and a lack of objectivity.
Mr Whelan was guarded in the defendants' cage by a balaclava-clad FSB officer
When the judge refused, as neither are official grounds for recusal, Mr Whelan displayed mock incredulity.
"So if the prosecutor were my sister that would be illegal, but human rights violations are fine?'" he asked.
"What do you think, Alexei? Shall we go for it?" he then joked to the chief investigator, wondering whether to request his removal too.
"It's your right," the FSB officer replied in English, with a smile.
But this high-profile case is a serious matter.
Mr Whelan claimed today he had been assaulted by prison staff. His lawyer, Vladimir Zherebenkov, said later that a guard had been disciplined following a dispute over the American "jumping and singing" during his daily exercise hour.
More serious still, the espionage charge he's facing carries a 20-year prison sentence.
Paul Whelan - innocent wedding guest or spy?
Former US marine alleges set-up in Russia spy case
Ex-marine calls Russia spy case 'political kidnap'
The investigation is now complete and his legal team say there is "lots in their favour" in the files they've been handed: none of his other Russian friends have said he claimed to be a spy or tried to recruit them.
But the lawyers say Mr Whelan is going through the papers himself in such detail, his trial is now unlikely to start before Spring.
Mr Whelan's family insist he was only visiting Russia to attend a friend's wedding
'I said to him, maybe we should get it over and done with this year? Get you home sooner,' Mr Zherebenkov recalled. 'But he wants to read everything, very carefully.'
The team have talked before of possible "misunderstandings" between Mr Whelan and his FSB "friend". They've hinted at jokes, maybe lost in translation. His family confirm that he's well known for his "banter", as displayed recently in court.
That may explain Mr Whelan likening himself to the hapless, but harmless, Mr Bean. It's hard to judge as the case is secret, including details on what data he allegedly sought, who for and how.
But Paul Wheel argues there's nothing to hide. So as he was led out of court in handcuffs, he attempted to break the blackout by flinging a copy of the latest court ruling at me down the corridor. It was scooped up by a Western diplomat. Only, the information it reveals is classified.
Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©
