Accused Russian spy Maria Butina appears to reach plea deal

[HumblePi]

Source: CNN

Accused Russian spy Maria Butina appears to reach plea deal

Washington (CNN)Accused Russian spy Maria Butina appears to have reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors.
Butina is accused of trying to infiltrate Republican political circles and party leaders during the 2016 campaign in order to advance Russian interests, and prosecutors have said the former American University student was in touch with politically powerful Russians about her activities in the US.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/10/politics/maria-butina-plea/index.html

[They_Live]

1. trying to infiltrate Republican political circles?

seems to me that she succeeded in doing so, all over the place.

[berni_mccoy]

4. Because Republicans have proven they'll do anything to win...

Including selling out their own country.

[HumblePi]

7. I fell for the bug

Here I was chasing around a fake bug on my laptop screen for 3 minutes before I figured out it was indestructible.

[WhiteTara]

27. Crazy making, aren't they?

We used to have a poster with a duck ducktaped to the wall that tried to get free. Some of the gifs like the slobbering walrus make me a bit crazy too. Welcome to DU HumblePi

[getagrip_already]

9. Those drive my cats crazy....

It catches their eye and then I have to keep them from scratching my screen........

[Botany]

2. I hope she spills her guts about the Russia/NRA/GOP connections

However I don't see a big future for Ms. Butina or her family back in Russia
if she talks too much over here.

[HumblePi]

3. Republican connections to the NRA

It will be interesting to find out who and how many other Republican Congressmen were involved in striking a deal between Russians and the NRA.

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

13. You mean like Sen. John Thune, R-SD...

... and the trip to Moscow on the 4th of July?

He just stood by while she played her games in South Dakota. Dusty Johnson, the new South Dakota House representative, too. He was at that Young Republicans retreat/camp out with her a few years ago, along with Erickson.

[Leghorn21]

5. I slept terribly late - how great to wake up to this piece of news!!!

Another one rides the bus
Another one rides the bus
Hey hey

Thank you Mr. Mueller & Co

[ffr]

6. That should tie up the Individual-1/Mike Pence/NRA connection. n/t

[UpInArms]

8. I hope she spilled something good

About NRA/Russia/Republicans

[Scurrilous]

10. K&R

[getagrip_already]

11. I don't get this.....

She isn't going to sniffle without putins ok. What is going on?

I smell something rotten here. Yeah, muehler is smart enough to not fall into a trap, unless it is a very clever trep.

But she isn't even afraid to go into general population (she asked for it). I would think that cutting a deal and cooperating would be a good way to the plutonium diet......

[Mr.Bill]

12. Maybe they offered her the Witness Protection Program? n/t

[erronis]

17. At this rate they'll be a whole gaggle of witnesses being protected

Perhaps the US can set up a nice planned community for them and their children/grandchildren/etc. Instead of The Truman Show's Seaside, we could call it Trumpvilla.

[littlemissmartypants]

26. Maybe in Baltimore?

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142220021

[HumblePi]

21. Witness Protection

From what I understand, Maria Butina has been kept in some pretty harsh prison conditions. The FBI is famous for offering this type of protection, a witness protection in which they given them an entirely new identity and relocate them someone anonymous in exchange for full cooperation.

The FBI made this offer to Sammy 'the Bull' Gravano who had committed 14 murders in exchange for giving up enough information on John Gotti to convict him.

[bigbrother05]

19. General pop would allow her to receive and pass info through others

Very likely there were valuable connections for her to exploit.

Quite likely her intent is to be a double/triple agent into the Russia probe, ala Manafort.

Mueller and his team have too much experience for her to glean anything they don't want her to know or pass on.

[getagrip_already]

23. I was thinking more along the lines of...

having him run with some evidence that later gets proven to be false. It could easily blow back on the legitimacy of the whole investigation.

For example, therer are reported to be fake copies of a pee tape floating around. They are out there so that if anyone runs with one, the kremlin would leak proof it was fake and nobody would ever believe the real one unless the kremloin wanted them to.

I wasn't worrying about her pulling a manafort. that was bush league compared to what the kremlin can do.

[duforsure]

14. Just another piece of evidence against trump

Showing putin was working with many people here in the USA to get trump illegitimately elected. There are others turned already that we aren't aware of yet too, and that's why trump is acting so buggy, he knows that he's been caught.

[nycbos]

15. More witches

[Liberty Belle]

16. Much more at this Wash. Post link:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/alleged-russian-agent-maria-butina-poised-to-plead-guilty-in-case-involving-kremlin-attempts-to-influence-nra/2018/12/10/3d91609e-f0f7-11e8-80d0-f7e1948d55f4_story.html?utm_term=.0da1382c8c44

I wonder how many GOP officials including members of the House or Senate she may have slept with and compromised by opening them to blackmail? Could get embarrassing or worse for the GOP.

Also the article states she's been in jail for several months, not away in Russia like other Russians indicted.

[erronis]

18. I would guess that any "encounters" were carefully video'd and sent back to the Kremlin.

[C Moon]

20. I keep waiting to wake up in the morning, and see a headline with the words Russia and McConnell.

[HumblePi]

22. Russia, McConnell and.....

Devin Nunes and Jim Jordan!

[getagrip_already]

24. I'm sure they all think...

She's smocking hot and they have done the twiddle with her.

[BigmanPigman]

25. I trust her to tell the truth as much as Manafort.

[Takket]

28. I wonder how the negotiations went...

“So you can either tell us everything you know and plead guilty, or you can go free right now and we’ll deport you back to Russia where you can explain yourself to Putin”

[nitpicker]

29. Link to The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/dec/10/maria-butina-russian-agent-nra-kremlin-infiltrate-plead-guilty