US prosecutors seek 18-month jail term for accused Russian agent Maria Butina
- Butina, 30, pleaded guilty in December to working as an undeclared agent of Russia an attempting to infiltrate conservative groups
US prosecutors are seeking an 18-month jail sentence for a Russian gun-rights activist who pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as a foreign agent by infiltrating conservative American groups on behalf of her government.
Maria Butina, who is 30, has cooperated with prosecutors since pleading guilty in December to working as an undeclared agent of Russia.
She is the first Russian convicted in the sprawl of cases arising from Moscow’s interference in the 2016 presidential election.
But while she was interviewed by Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating Russian meddling, her case arose from an earlier operation and was handled by the US attorney for the District of Columbia.
In a court filing Friday, prosecutors said that they were lowering their sentencing recommendation by six months “based on (Butina’s) substantial assistance to law enforcement.”
But her lawyers argued in their own filing that the young woman deserves credit for the nine months she has already spent in detention. Upon her sentencing, which is set for April 26, she should be immediately deported to Russia, the lawyers said.
