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The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
Friday, December 14, 2018 3A
Russian admits to being secret agent
DANA VERKOUTEREN I Associated Press
In this courtroom sketch, Maria Butina, left, is shown next
to her attorney Robert Driscoll, before U.S. District Judge
Tanya Chutkan, during a court hearing at the U.S. District
Court in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 13.
BY MICHAEL BALSAMO
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — A Rus
sian woman accused of being
a secret agent admitted
Thursday that she conspired
to infiltrate the American
gun-rights movement to
gather intelligence on con
servative political groups
as Donald Trump rose to
power.
Maria Butina, 30, agreed
to plead guilty to a conspir
acy charge as part of a deal
with federal prosecutors.
The case, which is sepa
rate from special counsel
Robert Mueller’s investiga
tion into Russian meddling
in the 2016 U.S. presidential
election, has offered insight
into how Moscow seeks to
influence American policy.
Prosecutors say Butina
and her Russian patron,
Alexander Torshin, used
their contacts in the National
Rifle Association to pursue
back channels to American
conservatives during that
campaign, when Republican
Trump defeated Democrat
Hillary Clinton.
Court documents detail
how Butina saw the Repub
lican Party as prime
for Russian influ
ence and courted
conservatives
through networking
and contacts with
the NRA. She posed
for photos with
prominent Repub
licans, including
former presidential
candidates, and snagged a
picture with Donald Trump
Jr. at a 2016 NRA dinner.
Butina’s case, brought
by federal prosecutors in
Washington, comes amid
a broader push by the Jus
tice Department to enforce
U.S. laws governing for
eign agents, including those
accused of working for
Russia.
As part of her deal, Butina
pleaded guilty to a single
charge of conspiracy to act
as an unregistered foreign
agent and she agreed to
cooperate with investigators.
Prosecutors say it is “very
likely” she will be deported
from the U.S. after her sen
tence is completed. The
charge carries a maximum
sentence of five years in
prison, though the defense
noted Thursday that federal
sentencing guide
lines recommend no
time to six months.
She has been jailed
since her arrest in
July.
According to her
plea agreement,
Butina’s work was
directed by Torshin,
a former longtime
member of the Russian par
liament who until recently
was an official in Russia’s
central bank. He is now
under sanction by the Trea
sury Department for his ties
to Russian President Vladi
mir Putin.
Butina, dressed in green
jail scrubs with her red hair
pulled into a long ponytail,
acknowledged she “sought
to establish unofficial lines of
communication with Ameri
cans having power and influ
ence over U.S. politics.” She
admitted that her boyfriend,
conservative political opera
tive Paul Erickson, helped
her as she tried to use his
ties with the NRA to set up
the back channels. Erickson,
who is referred to as “U.S.
Person 1” in court papers,
has not been charged. His
attorney said he is a good
American who “has done
nothing to harm our country
and never would.”
In a 2015 proposal she
crafted with Erickson’s help,
Butina argued it was unlikely
Russia would be able to exert
influence using official chan
nels and, as an alternative,
suggested using back chan
nel communications to build
relationships with Repub
licans, according to court
papers.
Pushing her travel to the
U.S. and her work with the
NRA as selling points, Butina
argued that she had already
“laid the groundwork for an
unofficial channel of com
munication with the next
U.S. administration.” She
asked for $125,000 from an
unnamed Russian billion
aire to attend conferences
in the U.S. and meet with
people who she thought
may have influence with
the Republican Party and
sent the proposal to Tor
shin. He responded by tell
ing her the proposal would
“be supported, at least in
part,” according to court
documents.
Torshin also asked Butina
to help justify him attend
ing a national NRA meeting
in 2016 and Butina encour
aged his attendance “partly
because of the opportunity
to meet political candi
dates,” according to her plea
agreement. In addition to
attending numerous NRA
events, Butina also organized
“friendship dinners” in
Washington with influential
political figures.
In their filings, prosecu
tors have said federal agents
found Butina had contact
information for people
suspected of working for
Russia’s Federal Security
Services, or FSB, the succes
sor intelligence agency to
the KGB. Inside her home,
they found notes referring
to a potential job offer from
the FSB, according to the
documents.
Investigators recovered
several emails and Twitter
message conversations in
which Butina referred to
the need to keep her work
secret and, in one instance,
said it should be “incognito.”
Butina
Nancy Pelosi all set to
reclaim speaker’s gavel
BY LISA MASCAR0
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — It has
been quite a week for Nancy
Pelosi.
The televised meeting with
President Donald Trump.
The deal with restless Demo
crats to secure their votes
to become House speaker.
The fashion statement of her
burnt-orange winter coat,
swooshing out the doors of
the White House, going viral
in social media memes.
It all showed the staying
power of the Democratic
leader, who is relentless in
her drive to reclaim the gavel
and wield it with a strength
that is nothing like Washing
ton has seen — at least since
the last time she did it.
“We’ve seen some strong
speakers like Pelosi and
some weaker speakers,”
said Matthew Green, a pro
fessor of political science at
Catholic University who has
written a book about House
speakers.
“What we’ve seen this
week is another demonstra
tion of how effective Pelosi is,
in both her negotiation skills
and in her ability to stand up
publicly to a president of the
opposite party,” he said. “The
most dangerous place to be in
Washington is between Pelosi
and an undecided vote. It’s
like a beeline; she goes right
for that person. That’s her
thing.”
Pelosi has said this time
as speaker would be differ
ent. On the campaign trail
this fall, she told The Associ
ated Press she would “enjoy
it” more because last time it
was all “work.” She said she
wants to “show the power of
the gavel.”
But even before winning
back the speakership, she is
employing its strength. Pelosi
used it during Tuesday’s Oval
Office meeting with Trump,
refusing his $5 billion border
wall money; on Republicans
during their last days in the
majority; and on her fellow
Democrats to give her their
support.
The public display this
week points to the return
of one of the more power
ful leaders in the history of
the House, even if she’s now
term-limited herself to serv
ing as speaker no more than
four years. It’s the start of a
long final act of the 78-year-
old mother of five and grand
mother of nine, and she’s
more comfortable than ever
taking her seat at the table.
“Leader Pelosi really
demonstrated this week why
she is about to become the
speaker of the House,” said
Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I.,
part of the newer generation
of House leaders. “She had a
great week.”
Not everyone on the
Democratic side is pleased
with the turn of events, and
Republicans made clear
they are more than eager
to accommodate Pelosi’s
rise, employing the kinds of
attacks they have for years
used against her. They’ll
be targeting newly elected
Democrats who vote for
Pelosi for speaker when the
new Congress convenes Jan.
3, especially those who had
vowed on the campaign trail
to oppose her.
Republican National Com
mittee chairwoman Ronna
McDaniel tweeted that “So
many Dem House candidates
have proven themselves to
be hypocrites.” She tweeted,
“Voters won’t forget it.”
And some House Demo
crats, including members
who have been wait
ing for Pelosi to step
aside so they could
rise in leadership,
are grumbling over
the deal she cut to
impose term lim
its for top leaders.
Democrats will vote
on that proposal in
the new year, and it
could very well fail. Pelosi
has promised to abide by the
deal regardless of the vote.
“I’m not for term limits,”
the No. 2 Democrat, Rep.
Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told
reporters. “Is anybody con
fused about — I am not for
term limits.”
But Thursday, the speaker-
in-waiting capped off the
week-that-was by recapping
what had just happened
— in case anyone missed
the social media memes of
Pelosi in that coat, exiting the
White House.
Pelosi recalled the
moment Tuesday in the
Oval Office when Trump,
arguing with her and Senate
Democratic leader Chuck
Schumer, finally relented
and said he’d be “proud” to
shut down the government
before Christmas — the
“Trump shutdown,” as she
called it — over the border
wall.
“Perhaps he doesn’t under
stand people need their pay-
checks,” she said Thursday.
She all but eye-rolled at his
insistence that Mexico would
pay for it. “I mean really?
Really?”
And although Pelosi hasn’t
spoken to Trump since that
day, she confided that he is
in her prayers. “I did tell the
president that I pray for him.
He said, ‘That’s news, go tell
the press.” And so she did.
In her deal with a group of
rebellious House Democrats,
Pelosi agreed to limit herself
to four years, securing their
votes to become speaker.
Pelosi said: “They were say
ing six months.”
Pressed on
whether she was
making herself a
lame-duck leader,
she told reporters
later, “What, four
years? No, I don’t
think that’s a lame
duck.”
It’s an assertive
ness coming from the House
side of the Capitol that has
not been as evident under
outgoing Speaker Paul Ryan,
who insisted he never really
wanted the job, or former
Speaker John Boehner, who
was sent to early retirement
by conservatives in his ranks.
She’ll be the first House
speaker in 50-plus years to
reclaim the gavel after an
absence, not since legend
ary speaker Sam Rayburn
returned in 1955. One of the
most preferred House office
buildings next to the Capitol
complex carries his name.
As the first female speaker
when she first held the office,
it goes without saying — no
woman has done what Pelosi
is about to do.
Pelosi has long been a
polarizing figure, but in a lop
sided way, more demonized
by Republicans than beloved
by Democrats.
But that seems to be chang
ing after an election that is
bringing nearly 40 new Dem
ocrats for the House major
ity, many of them female
candidates voted into office
on a wave of energy from
female voters.
Pelosi
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December 25th, in observance of Christmas.
Strasbourg market attack
suspect killed by police
BY SAMUEL PETREQUIN,
ELENA BECAT0R0S AND
MSTYSLAV CHERNOV
Associated Press
STRASBOURG,
France — The man
authorities believe killed
three people during a
rampage near a Christ
mas market in Stras
bourg died Thursday in
a shootout with police at
the end of a two-day man
hunt, French authorities
said.
The Paris prosecutor’s
office, which handles
terror cases in France,
formally identified the
man killed in the eastern
French city as 29-year-
old Cherif Chekatt, a
Strasbourg-born man
with a long history of
convictions for various
crimes, including rob
beries. Chekatt also had
been on a watch list of
potential extremists.
Interior Minister Chris-
tophe Castaner, speaking
earlier from Strasbourg,
said police had spot
ted a man matching the
suspect’s description
in the city’s Neudorf
neighborhood.
“The moment they
tried to arrest him,
he turned around and
opened fire. They
replied,” killing the man,
Castaner said.
Chekatt was suspected
of killing three people
and wounding 13 near
Strasbourg’s Christmas
market on Tuesday
night. Castaner said
earlier Thursday that
three of the injured had
been released from hos
pital and three others
were still fighting for
their lives.
“Our engagement against
terrorism is total,” French
President Emmanuel
Macron, who was in Brussels
for a European Union sum
mit, said in a tweet thanking
security forces.
Five people have been
arrested in connection with
the investigation, including
Chekatt’s parents and two of
his brothers.
The Paris prosecutor’s
office said the fifth, who
was arrested Thursday,
was a member of Chekatt’s
“entourage” but not a fam
ily member.
Witnesses said the gun
man shouted “God is great!”
in Arabic and sprayed gun
fire from a security zone
near the Christmas market
on Tuesday. Security forces
wounded the man but he
managed to escape in a taxi,
which dropped him off in
the Neudorf neighborhood.
More than 700 officers
searched for Chekatt, gov
ernment spokesman Benja
min Griveaux told CNews
television.
Chekatt was well-known
to police but as a common
criminal, not a terrorist. He
had his first conviction at 13,
and had 26 more by the time
he died at age 29.
He served jail time in
France, Germany and
Switzerland.
A local police official,
who spoke on condition of
anonymity because he was
not authorized to speak pub
licly, said the man who shot
at police Thursday night had
been armed with a pistol and
a knife.
Strasbourg Mayor Roland
Ries said police had acted on
a tip from a woman.
Residents described hear
ing shots on the street where
Chekatt faced off with
police, prompting new jit
ters after two days marked
by tension in and around
Strasbourg, which lies on the
border with Germany and
is considered as symbol of
European unity.
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