09-10-2018, 03:51 PM
The judge denied Butina's request to be released from jail pending trial.
A federal judge on Monday rejected a defense request to free a Russian woman pending trial on charges she was a foreign agent attempting to infiltrate the National Rifle Association and other American conservative groups , saying she remained a flight risk.
In ordering continued detention for Maria Butina, 29, U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan also imposed a gag order after slamming prosecutors for their mistaken claim that Butina traded sex for access, and slammed her defense attorney for repeated public statements that the judge said could bias potential jurors.
Butina has pleaded not guilty after being indicted July 17 on charges of conspiracy to act and failing to register as an agent of a foreign government. Her defense said she was merely networking to develop relationships with Americans. She is being held in jail in Alexandria, Va.
Full story: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/pub...338a1d417b
A federal judge on Monday rejected a defense request to free a Russian woman pending trial on charges she was a foreign agent attempting to infiltrate the National Rifle Association and other American conservative groups , saying she remained a flight risk.
In ordering continued detention for Maria Butina, 29, U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan also imposed a gag order after slamming prosecutors for their mistaken claim that Butina traded sex for access, and slammed her defense attorney for repeated public statements that the judge said could bias potential jurors.
Butina has pleaded not guilty after being indicted July 17 on charges of conspiracy to act and failing to register as an agent of a foreign government. Her defense said she was merely networking to develop relationships with Americans. She is being held in jail in Alexandria, Va.
Full story: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/pub...338a1d417b