It is alleged Maria Butina was in constant contact with the FSB, Russia's Federal Security Service. Photo / Supplied
It is alleged Maria Butina was in constant contact with the FSB, Russia's Federal Security Service. Photo / Supplied
Maria Butina is one of the most controversial women in the world right now.
The 29-year-old Russian national has been accused of spying on the United States, using sex and deception to gain valuable contacts and information.
She's been arrested on charges of conspiracy and acting as a foreign government agent.
The Justice Department claims Butina was part of an elaborate plan to influence the Republican Party to be friendlier to Moscow, using her connections with figures in the NRA. Photo / Supplied
The government is alleging that the woman was carrying out a plan to influence American politics on behalf of a Russian government official, and influence the Republican Party — currently led by President Donald Trump — to be friendlier to Russia, through the National Rifle Association (NRA).
Maria Butina is a Russian national who was born in Siberia.
She said she moved to Moscow in 2010 with dreams of starting a business.
The woman is known as a pro-gun activist, having founded a Russian gun rights group in Moscow called Right to Bear Arms.
It was through this that she started working for Alexander Torshin, a major player in Russian politics who has served in the upper house of the country's Parliament.
Through a shared interest in gun rights, the pair were introduced to top NRA officials and began attending conventions in the USA.
The young woman was in the United States on a student visa, and graduated from American University in Washington, D.C. in May.
What has Butina been charged with?
Prosecutors have accused Butina of using sex and deception to forge influential connections with people in the US.
The Justice Department claims she was part of an elaborate plan to influence the Republican Party to be friendlier to Moscow, using her connections with high-profile figures in the NRA.
It's also alleged that she was in constant contact with the FSB, Russia's Federal Security Service.
Authorities have claimed she was photographed by the FBI dining privately with a Russian diplomat suspected of being an intelligence operative in the weeks before the envoy's departure from the US last March.
It's also claimed she set up a trip to Moscow for NRA members and arranged meetings for Russian political insiders in New York and Washington.
At the same time, Butina was said to be in a relationship with an older man she didn't like, but had regular sex with. He was referred to as "US Person 1", and later identified as Republican political operative Paul Erickson.
This courtroom sketch depicts Maria Butina, a 29-year-old gun-rights activist suspected of being a covert Russian agent, listening to Assistant U.S. Attorney Erik Kenerson. Photo / AP
Court documents state that Butina expressed "disdain" for having to live with him, but got something out of it — he allegedly did her homework for her at American University, allowing her to maintain her high 4.0 grade score.
She allegedly offered sex to another person in exchange for a position with a special interest organisation.
Butina pleaded not guilty to two charges — conspiracy, and acting as a secret foreign government agent.
"The defendant's covert influence campaign involved substantial planning, international co-ordination and preparation," prosecutors wrote. "The plan for Butina also required, and she demonstrated, a willingness to use deceit in a visa application to move to the United States and bring the plan to fruition."
US Magistrate Deborah Robinson ordered the woman to be held in jail as the case moved forward, saying she was an "extreme flight risk" — highly likely to flee the US.
She was jailed without bond.
Her lawyer, Robert Driscoll, said the woman was not a Russian agent, but rather a "young student seeking to make her way in America".
But prosecutors have argued that her student visa and enrolment at American University were just an elaborate way to cover her work.
Butina was arrested over the weekend amid signs that she planned to leave the Washington area and possibly the country, they said.
Her lease on an apartment ends later this month, her belongings were packed at the time of her arrest and she had applied for a visa that would allow her to travel to and from the United States, prosecutors said.
'You have upstaged Anna Chapman'
Butina was compared to Anna Chapman, a famous Russian intelligence agent who gained notoriety after she was arrested in the US as part of a spy ring.
Butina was compared to Anna Chapman, pictured, a famous Russian intelligence agent and model who gained notoriety after she was arrested in the US as part of a spy ring. Photo / Getty Images
Prosecutors said a Russian official with whom she was in touch likened her to Chapman, in text messages discovered by the FBI.
Court papers unsealed Monday, July 16, 2018, photographed in Washington, shows part of the criminal complaint against Maria Butina. Photo / AP
In March 2017, following the news coverage of Butina, the Russian official wrote: "Are your admirers asking for your autographs yet? You have upstaged Anna Chapman. She poses with toy pistols, while you are being published with real ones," according to the court filing.
Butina and the Russian official directly messaged each other on Twitter, according to prosecutors.
One such exchange occurred a month before the US presidential election, when Butina said she understood that "everything has to be quiet and careful".
They also spoke on January 20, 2017, when Butina sent the official a photo of herself near the US Capitol on the day Donald Trump was inaugurated president.
According to court papers, the Russian official responded: "You're a daredevil girl! What can I say!"
Butina responded, "Good teachers!"
The NRA has not commented on the charges against Butina, and the woman remains in prison as the case continues.
