DISINFO: Maria Butina's case is fabricated
SUMMARY
Maria Butina was sentenced to 1.5 years in prison for spying, there is something wrong here. If one is a spy, then the punishment must be well over 1.5 years in prison. If one is not a spy, why are they convicted? Her jokes with a long-time friend living in Russia were portrayed as an attempt to infiltrate into an American organization. The justice system in America does not exist. Racism flourishes. If Butina was of another nationality, no one would have even looked at her. But she was Russian.
RESPONSE
Maria Butina plead guilty and was convicted for working as a non registered lobby agent of a foreign government, not for espionage. Staying in the US with a student visa, she tried to install "back channels" between the Kremlin and conservative political circles in the US, before and after the presidential election in 2016 , in order to improve Russia-US relations. The FBI special agent's affidavit to the criminal complaint against Butina was based on the searches of two premises, surveillance, and examination of documents, including electronic items. In the course of surveillance, FBI agents witnessed Butina's meeting with a Russian intelligence officer who worked undercover as a diplomat while her phone contained contacts of several Russian intelligence agents. Read the Insider's investigation into the ties between Butina and high-ranking Russian officials.