WATCH: Maria Butina Asks Trump a Question About Russian Sanctions in 2015

Maria Butina, the Russian gun rights activist and political operative accused of being an agent of the Russian Federation in the United States, asked President Donald Trump about sanctions on Russia at an event in 2015. Butina, 29, asked the then-presidential candidate what he would do about those sanctions if he became president. Butina was arrested on a federal charge on Sunday and is being held in a D.C. jail.

You can watch video of that moment here:

Butina, who is a graduate student at American University in D.C., and is the founder of the Russian gun rights group “Right to Bear Arms,” was attending FreedomFest in Las Vegas when she asked Trump the question about sanctions on her home country. Butina is a protege of former Russian senator Aleksandr Torshin, who is now the deputy governor of the Central Bank of Russia. Butina and Torshin have worked to develop ties between her gun group and the National Rifle Association, along with NRA officials and Republican politicians and operatives.

At the 2015 event in Vegas, Butina told Trump, “I am visiting from Russia.” Trump then interrupted Butina and said, “ahhh Putin. Good friend of Obama, Putin. He likes Obama a lot,” to laughs from the crowd. Go ahead.”

Butina asked Trump whether he would keep in place the “damaging” sanctions on her country.

Trump responded, “I know Putin, and I’ll tell you what, we get along with Putin… I believe I would get along very nicely with Putin, OK? And I mean, where we have the strength. I don’t think you’d need the sanctions. I think we would get along very, very well.”

Butina Wrote in 2015 About How a Republican President Would Be Better for Russia

FacebookMaria Butina with Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and Aleksandr Torshin.

In 2015, Butina wrote an opinion piece in The National Interest in which she argued, “It may take the election of a Republican to the White House in 2016 to improve relations between the Russian Federation and the United States.”

In February 2016, Butina set up a company in South Dakota with Paul Erickson, a Republican political operative with ties to the NRA. Both Butina and Erickson were reported to be under FBI investigation in connection to Russian interference in the 2016 election, according to NPR. Erickson told McClatchy DC the company was formed in case Butina needed extra money for her graduate studies.

The FBI has been looking into whether Butina’s former boss, Torshin, funneled money from the Central Bank of Russia, which he is the deputy governor of, to the NRA to help the Trump campaign. In 2016, Erickson reached out to the Trump campaign, through aide Rick Dearborn, saying, “Putin is deadly serious about building a good relationship with Mr. Trump. He wants to extend an invitation to Mr. Trump to visit him in the Kremlin before the election,” the New York Times reported.

According to Mother Jones, Butina held a costume party in D.C. in November 2016, after the election, and it was attended by Erickson and Trump campaign aides. The Daily Beast reports that Butina bragged at the party about being part of the Trump campaign’s communications with Russia.

Butina Faces Up to 5 Years in Prison on the Federal Conspiracy Charge

FacebookMaria Butina.

Butina, 29, was arrested Sunday and made her initial appearance Monday in federal court in Washington, D.C., according to a press release from the Department of Justice. Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson ordered Butina held until a hearing on July 18, according to the press release. Butina has denied ever having worked for the Russian government and her attorney, Robert Neil Driscoll, said she is not “not an agent of the Russian Federation,” according to a statement. Her attorney said her ties to the National Rifle Association, NRA officials and Republican political operatives were part of networking efforts by Butina, who is a graduate student at American University in Washington D.C. Butina’s home was raided by the FBI in April, her attorney said.

“According to the affidavit in support of the complaint, from as early as 2015 and continuing through at least February 2017, Butina worked at the direction of a high-level official in the Russian government who was previously a member of the legislature of the Russian Federation and later became a top official at the Russian Central Bank. This Russian official was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control in April 2018,” the Justice Department press release states.

The Justice Department added, “The court filings detail the Russian official’s and Butina’s efforts for Butina to act as an agent of Russia inside the United States by developing relationships with U.S. persons and infiltrating organizations having influence in American politics, for the purpose of advancing the interests of the Russian Federation. The filings also describe certain actions taken by Butina to further this effort during multiple visits from Russia and, later, when she entered and resided in the United States on a student visa. The filings allege that she undertook her activities without officially disclosing the fact that she was acting as an agent of Russian government, as required by law.”

Court documents do not name the American officials or political organizations Butina had relationships with, but previous reporting by The Daily Beast and Mother Jones uncovered her ties to the National Rifle Association, along with former NRA President David Keene. She has also met with former NRA President Wayne LaPierre.

Butina faces up to 5 years in prison if convicted. According to the Justice Department’s press release, “The investigation into this matter was conducted by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. The case is being prosecuted by the National Security Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the National Security Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.”

You can read more about Maria Butina here.

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