• Maria Butina is an Alleged Russia agent

Maria Butina's ties with Russian intelligence make her a flight risk, a federal judge ruled, and she will be held until her trial.

A lawyer for the 29-year-old said she has been co-operating with the US government for several months.

Ms Butina, who was arrested on Sunday, appeared on Wednesday afternoon at a US court in Washington DC.

US Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson ruled that the government had proved there are no conditions of her release that would guarantee her return to court for trial.

On Wednesday, Moscow's foreign ministry said Ms Butina's arrest was designed to undermine the "positive results" of a summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on Monday.

Court filings on Wednesday say Ms Butina was living with an unnamed 56-year-old American - identified in documents as US Person 1 - with whom she had a "personal relationship".



In some of her photos on social media, Ms Butina is seen with Paul Erickson, a South Dakota-based conservative political activist who is listed in public records as being 56 years old.

She had "expressed disdain for continuing to cohabitate with" the American man, according to documents seized by the FBI.

The documents do not name the organization in question. But her social media accounts show she frequented National Rifle Association (NRA) events.

Ms Butina's lawyer has denied all the allegations.

The Department of Justice alleges that Ms Butina worked "under the direction and control" of a senior Russian official who is not named in charging documents.

Court papers say the Russian official acted as her handler, and coached her through online messages.

"Right now everything has to be quiet and careful," Ms Butina allegedly wrote to her contact through a private Twitter message, a month before the 2016 presidential election.

On the night of the vote, court filings say she messaged the Russian official: "I'm going to sleep. It's 3 a.m. here. I am ready for further orders."

She tried to establish "back channel" lines of communication to "penetrate the US national decision-making apparatus", the Justice Department said.

During her time in the US, she fostered relationships with conservative pro-gun groups.

Ms Butina's Facebook page includes pictures of her attending events where she met other well-known American politicians, including Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.

According to US media, the Russian official appears to be Alexander Torshin, a deputy governor of Russia's Central Bank and a well-connected ex-Russian senator from President Putin's political party. He was targeted by US Department of Treasury sanctions in April.

Ms Butina posted several photos to her social media accounts over the past few years showing her with Mr Torshin.

On her visa application, Ms Butina said she had previously been employed as special assistant to Mr Torshin.

At a news briefing on Wednesday White House stonewall Sarah Sanders said: "We're looking at that; but this is a lengthy process."



Spanish Prosecutor Said ‘Trump’s Son Should be Concerned’ About Maria Butina

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has received copies of wiretaps obtained by Spanish police which implicate Donald Trump Jr. in a plot to meet with Alexander Torshin, a high-ranking official of Russia’s Central Bank. And, the prosecutor notes, those wiretaps don’t bode well for the president’s son.

This was originally reported in May of this year but is moving up to the front burner because Torshin is said to have been the handler of alleged Russian agent Mariia “Maria” Butina. She arrested last week on charges of attempting to influence U.S. elections on the Kremlin’s behalf.

Prosecutor José Grinda leads investigations into Spanish and foreign organized crime operating in Spain. According to Grinda, FBI officials recently requested and received wiretapped conversations between Torshin and Alexander Romanov. Romanov, was convicted of money laundering–after pleading guilty–in mid-2016.

Grinda noted: “Just a few months ago, the wiretaps of these telephone conversations were given to the FBI. – Mr. Trump’s son should be concerned.”

During the Guardia Civil wiretap of Romanov’s phone Grinda reportedly obtained 33 conversations with Torshin–including some allegedly implicating Donald Trump Jr.

Editor’s note: this story has been amended to clarify both Alexander Torshin’s alleged working relationship with Mariia Butina and the relevance of this news from May in light of recent events.

El supreemoe stupido! (moe, as in Larry, Moe and Curley)

Last week, America saw detailed evidence that Putin’s military engaged in day-to-day, sophisticated efforts to manipulate the 2016 election. (You can read the indictment HERE)

But on Monday, standing next to Putin, Trump not only avoided the Justice Department’s indictment of 12 Russian military intelligence officers, but he questioned the conclusion that Russia was behind the hacking.

Deflecting the issue, Trump raised a series of irrelevant conspiracy theories — none of which were related to Russian hacking.

He questioned why the F.B.I. never took custody of a DNC server.

He asked about a Pakistan-born Capitol Hill aide, who pleaded guilty on unrelated fraud charges after conservatives questioned whether he was linked to the DNC. (no evidence was found that Mr. Awan illegally manipulated computer systems.)

And Trump demanded to know why thousands of Hillary Clinton’s emails had disappeared, another question unrelated to Russia’s activities.

It was the old smoke-and-mirrors ploy. While Mr. Trump repeatedly returns to the question of the DNC server, which still sits in the committee’s basement, investigators familiar with the case said the server itself is of little investigative value.

The F.B.I. has received a full “forensic copy” of the DNC server hard drives. That is standard practice and is “the best thing to use in an investigation so that your exploration of the server does not change the evidence.”

How the emails made their way into the G.R.U., Mr. Putin’s military intelligence unit, is a matter for the Mueller and congressional investigations. So, the question is who ordered that hacked emails be made public at critical moment in the 2016 campaign?

Trump’s effort at deflection is not new.

Trump must either understand that American, British and Dutch intelligence all intercepted Russian messages and DNC documents, or he is incredibly stupid!

I, for one, give Trump the benefit of doubt and say: “Trump is incredibly stupid.”

Putin is the David MisCabbage of Russia!

I, me, mine.

An autistic retard like the trumpster in the dumpster might well think:

I won the presidency because of me and it is mine.

Before the trumpster in the dumpster, the closest we were to a retarded president was "W." I.Q. 91, but no retard.

Putin gave Trump a ball and said: "Here, kid. Now go play in the street."

All Putin had to do is say: "You won, on your own." And "I, me, mine" trumpster said: "Yeah, that's how it was... I remember now."



The erosion of Russian-American relations was brought to light by Donald Trump, just hours before he had his one-on-one summit with Putin in Finland.

In a tweet, Trump wrote:

“Our relationship with Russia has NEVER been worse thanks to many years of U.S. foolishness and stupidity and now, the Rigged Witch Hunt!”

The veracity of that statement was confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, which retweeted Trump’s tweet along with the words: “We agree.”

Remember, the Trump administration borrowed $1.5 TRILLION just to get through it's first year! Putin is a distraction.

For Trump, it was a photo opportunity - his chance to be on the front page of every newspaper (I, me, mine). Trump: "Did you see my picture in the paper, or on FAUX Snews?"

The real game was the theft of your future and that of your children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

The conclusions reached in an intelligence assessment by the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation: “Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the U.S. presidential election, the consistent goals of which were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary (Hillary) Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency. We further assess Putin and the Russian government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump.”

President Trump made it abundantly clear at Monday’s news conference with Putin that we, as Americans, have no business thinking Russia interfered with our election.

(Trumo to Trump: I won my election; it is mine.)

Trump is Putin's useful idiot.

“My people came to me, (Director of National Intelligence) Dan Coats came to me and some others, they said they think it's Russia,” Trump said. “I have President Putin; he just said it's not Russia. I will say this: I don't see any reason why it would be. … I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today.”



Last week’s detailed indictment of 12 Russian military intelligence agents accused of interfering with the 2016 election was a continuation of “the Rigged Witch Hunt!”

Or not. Remember, Democrats were treasonous for not clapping.

a made-for-TV moment

"Our relationship with Russia has NEVER been worse," Trump tweeted Monday morning, blaming "...the Rigged Witch Hunt!"

The Russian foreign ministry responded by liking Trump's tweet and then replying: "We agree."

The summit started late because Putin arrived in Helsinki about a half hour behind schedule in another display of the Russian's leader famous lack of punctuality.

This "shameful comedy" has been staged to present the normalization of Russia-U.S. ties.

Trump and his aides have repeatedly tried to lower expectations about what the summit will achieve. He told CBS News that he didn't "expect anything" from Putin. Trump told reporters during a breakfast Monday with Finland's president that he thought the summit would go "fine."

Observers have raised concerns about the fact that the leaders met alone during their first meeting, but for a pair of interpreters, meaning there will be no corroborating witnesses to accurately represent what was said during the conversation. As the meeting started, Trump winked at Putin.

HERE is the video.

In tweets Monday, Trump continued to undermine the investigation and blamed his predecessor, Barack Obama, for failing to stop Russia's efforts to sway the 2016 election in Trump's favor. He claimed Obama "was informed by the FBI about Russian Meddling, he said it couldn't happen, was no big deal, & did NOTHING about it."

The Obama administration did, in fact, take action, including confronting Putin in person as well as expelling nearly three dozen Russian diplomats the U.S. said were actually intelligence operatives and imposing new sanctions.

Trump was eager for a made-for-TV moment that will dominate headlines focus on areas where Moscow and Washington may be able to find common ground.

Putin will not be shooting for official recognition of Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, aware that the U.S. Congress would never allow such action. But he welcomes a symbolic end to Western protests over Crimea.

Trump is colluding with Putin and Russia right before your eyes.

Trump’s behavior is juvenile [and/or retarded]

During President Donald Trump’s education, he must have missed lessons on diplomacy and decorum.

He embarrassed himself and our country with his inappropriate behavior at the G-7 summit in Montreal. This strained and possibly caused irreparable damage to years of diplomacy and strong alliances.

He acted like a sulky teenager [or worse].

He arrived late and left early, removed his translator earpiece during the French president’s speech, and threw candy at the chancellor of Germany.

If that wasn’t enough, he tweeted insults toward the prime minister of Canada.

His erratic behavior now includes ingratiating himself to the leader of North Korea and the president of Russia, both dictators.

The United States needs a stable, serious leader who cares more for the country than his own agenda and ego. We are in danger of losing the trust of our allies as well as our profile as leader of the free world.

Source: https://www.kentucky.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article214030369.html

A message for "the Donald."


Don't Be Putin's Puppet (idiot)