Maria Butina freed by US

Maria Butina, who served nine months in a US jail for acting as a Russian government agent, arrived in Moscow yesterday, a day after her release from prison. She was arrested in July 2018 on allegations of engaging in espionage. In December, Butina entered a plea deal on a charge that she acted as an illegal, unregistered foreign agent, and was sentenced to 18 months in prison, half of which was credited as already served. Butina, a 30-year-old from Siberia, used ties with the NRA firearms lobby to help build a network of high-level Republican contacts. Those efforts brought her into contact with President Donald Trump before his 2016 election, as well as with one of his sons. Butina was the only Russian arrested and convicted in a three-year investigation of Moscow’s interference in US politics. Moscow decried her case as being politically-motivated.