Washington (CNN) The Justice Department charged a Russian national who, along with her mentor, aimed to set up backchannel communications during the presidential campaign between Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, with conspiring against the US as a foreign agent.
Mariia Butina, also known as Maria, was arrested on Sunday and appeared in court in Washington, DC, on Monday, according to the Justice Department. She’ll be detained for three days until her next court appearance.
She and her mentor, Kremlin-linked banker Alexander Torshin, spent three years trying to make inroads with US political organizations and operatives to develop a more conciliatory approach to Russia among American politicians, according to court filings and CNN reporting. Torshin and Butina feared the end of the Obama administration in 2016, and targeted Republicans, according to court filings.
Their primary avenue of influence appeared to be the National Rifle Association, according to CNN reporting and court filings, though the organization is not explicitly referred to by name in the legal documents.
Torshin bragged both publicly and privately that he and Butina were the only Russians who were also lifetime members of the NRA, and they leveraged their relationship with the NRA’s leadership to foster relationships with Republican Party leaders, American politicians and business leaders. They even used their connection to try to establish a covert communications channel between then-candidate Trump and Putin.
The NRA did not respond to a request for comment.
https://twitter.com/3ChicsPolitico/status/1019590343329767425
https://twitter.com/RevDrBarber/status/1019289102888439809
https://twitter.com/ShaunKing/status/1019408621149581313
Dismantling democracy brick by brick…
https://twitter.com/splcenter/status/1019371234419728384
Arizona’s next DEMOCRATIC senator right here…
https://twitter.com/kyrstensinema/status/1019365136086155264
Markos Moulitsas (@markos) Tweeted:
Holy shit it’s a real race! Ted Cruz leads Beto O’Rourke by only 48-46 https://t.co/2d0AN4urYP https://twitter.com/markos/status/1019304926529417218?s=17
😄😄😄😄
Atlanta Black Star (@ATLBlackStar) Tweeted:
@a_glimpseofparadise shared video of a woman reportedly harassing a black couple for blocks as they walked down the street in Berkeley, CA. She was yelling “get out of Berkeley” but tried to play the victim when police arrived. To her utter shock, she was arrested instead. https://t.co/IOKziPcNYp https://twitter.com/ATLBlackStar/status/1019319414632665090?s=17
https://twitter.com/kpolantz/status/1019320284753612800
She is the very definition of flight risk.😒
https://twitter.com/kpolantz/status/1019317879710343168
https://twitter.com/democracynow/status/1019315174837313537
https://twitter.com/HoarseWisperer/status/1019076479546740736
https://twitter.com/SenatorShaheen/status/1019308627348348928
https://twitter.com/BNONews/status/1019307642169196544
https://twitter.com/ChrisJansing/status/1019300583344365568
https://twitter.com/TAPAlerts/status/1019301353724792832
https://twitter.com/Tom_Winter/status/1019297723873480705
https://twitter.com/Tom_Winter/status/1019296274225553408
https://twitter.com/davidjoachim/status/1019293123367915520
https://twitter.com/Acosta/status/1019299358150406146
It’s on and poppin!
https://twitter.com/TAPAlerts/status/1019298125905825793
THIS DANGEROUS LIAR HERE! Get him OUT of our Oval Office.
https://twitter.com/AlBoeNEWS/status/1019297491764695040
https://twitter.com/DavidCornDC/status/1019198809950380032
https://twitter.com/SteveSchmidtSES/status/1019064521095180288
https://twitter.com/speechboy71/status/1019295687689764864
#TreasonSummit GTFOH! Do he REALLY think the American people are THAT stupid? @GOP @SenateMajLdr @SpeakerRyan get this treasonous traitor OUT of our sacred Oval Office. IMPEACH TRUMP NOW!
https://twitter.com/PeterAlexander/status/1019292471132639233
Crazy day today as Putin wants to swap 12 Russian GRU agents who hacked the US election for me in his meeting with Trump in Helsinki. Here’s my take for @TIME on why I’ve gotten Putin so rattled and what he’s really afraid of https://t.co/FoJkJKtLhl
— Bill Browder (@Billbrowder) July 17, 2018
https://twitter.com/CREWcrew/status/1019273119226310656
Closing in on all the con artists and criminals
https://twitter.com/MarshallCohen/status/1019273507090427904
https://twitter.com/theGrio/status/1019273085671886853
https://twitter.com/AshaRangappa_/status/1019270763910754308
https://twitter.com/cnnbrk/status/1019260296836407297
https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1019243123187204096
https://twitter.com/davidhogg111/status/1019268008332615682
The NRA is where the $$$$ trail starts. UH UH UH
lips pursed
Rep. Pete King told me he “absolutely” stands by House Intelligence Committee’s report that disputed IC findings that Putin wanted Trump to win. Putin yesterday confirmed he wanted Trump to win.
King told me he has seen the intelligence and doesn’t believe Putin.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) July 17, 2018
https://twitter.com/IsaacDovere/status/1019209990551277568
https://twitter.com/IamGMJohnson/status/1018901735828574208
I REFUSE to accept ANY responsibility for this mess.
Naw, Son, I’m part of the group that told you he was no damn good.
Outside of the coons, nobody Non-White has ANY responsibility for this.
45 can try to SPIN that shit storm in Helsinki all he wants.
HE IS A TRAITOR, COMMITTED TREASON BEFORE THE WHOLE WORLD, AND NEEDS TO GO!
New: a top voting machine vendor admits it installed remote-access software on systems sold to states. Senator Wyden said this “is the worst decision for security short of leaving ballot boxes on a Moscow street corner.”https://t.co/V692ouXMlY— Joseph Cox (@josephfcox) July 17, 2018
https://twitter.com/ReutersPolitics/status/1019258549065736192
GO AWAY, 45. Just leave
He need to RESIGN! You cannot undo treason. #TreasonSummit
https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1019258745447120896
His comments are a day late and millions of $$$ short.
He can’t undo that shitstorm in Helsinki.
https://twitter.com/HansNichols/status/1019246422200344578
45 is only carrying out the orders from his boss Putin=Time to get rid of Rosenstein & Muleller.
TRY IT, BITCH, and watch Americans EXPLODE.
White House summons Rod Rosenstein days after he dropped bombshell Russia indictments: report
he Trump administration on Tuesday summoned Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to the White House just days after he announced bombshell indictments against 12 Russians for their alleged role in hacking the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
According to NBC News Pentagon correspondent Hans Nichols, Rosenstein was “was seen leaving the White House at 11:28 a.m.” on Tuesday. He adds that it was “unclear if he met with President Trump, who is still in the residence and hasn’t shown up in the West Wing this morning.”
https://www.rawstory.com/2018/07/white-house-mysteriously-summons-rod-rosenstein-days-dropped-bombshell-russia-indictments-report/
Wondering why Paul Ryan is the front man for 45’s DEBACLE? He’s leaving office soon.
Keep your eyes and ears out for Micth McTurtle. He’s the one behind the scenes, helping to get those judges in place, to further set us America back 100 years.
FAILURE

#TreasonSummit May? Not acceptable. We need sanctions. We need Trump impeached. He committed treason on live tv while the country watched. Our jaws dropped to the floor to hear him side w/ Russia over our own intelligence agencies. He is beholden to Russia & MUST be IMPEACHED!
https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1019235743003234305
Fuck you,ZEGK, this is a smoke screen to quell the ATOMIC FALLOUT from 45’s disastrous ass-kissing Putin debacle.
IMPEACH that orange MOFO!
New post up with full PBO speech South Africa, commemorating Madiba’s 100th anniversary.
https://twitter.com/RepRaulGrijalva/status/1019235444347858944
https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1019236181861597188
Your president is saying the opposite to a foreign adversary, Speaker Paul Ryan..
Now what are you and Mich McConnell going to do.
3 Chics=TALK IS CHEAP gifs
NYT: Donald Trump Jr. DID meet Maria Butina, along with Alexander Torshin, at the 2016 NRA convention, and “congressional investigators have obtained a photograph of the three at the event”. https://t.co/AHO1tUaGOK— Jon Swaine (@jonswaine) July 17, 2018
GET HIM!!!
NEW: I can confirm that the US Congressman who allegedly met with Butina and Torshin in August 2015 in Moscow was Dana Rohrabacher. pic.twitter.com/0Kw0xgDpym
— Scott Stedman (@ScottMStedman) July 16, 2018
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=88&v=eFAugsKExNI
UH HUH
UH HUH
GOT HIM!
This shouldn’t get lost: The FBI has obtained the emails of a U.S. person, claiming to have participated in a “VERY private line of communication between the Kremlin and key [Republican] leaders” a month before the 2016 election. pic.twitter.com/Gox5fwjpky
— Brad Heath (@bradheath) July 16, 2018
This is really big news. Here’s the Post’s story on how this Russian — known for her good looks and love of guns — got Russian interests and Russian $ entwined with the NRA. https://t.co/KY1wcmz3Fn https://t.co/pDXFE1GFW2
— David Fahrenthold (@Fahrenthold) July 16, 2018
Who in the GOP & any Dems are hitched to NRA money. WHO ARE BEHOLDEN TO RUSSIA?
https://twitter.com/axios/status/1019234590551134209
TELL IT, 44!
The silver lining
So much truth here. It’s all in the open.
IT’S SO MUCH, EVERY BIT MUELLER TIME
Shut your trap….you’re MAGA, Bytches.
Do your patriotic duty
………………………………………………
Texas shrimp industry to lose $1M per day due to immigrant visa cap
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/397391-texas-shrimp-industry-to-lose-1m-per-day-due-to-immigrant-visa
NO SYMPATHY. You broke it, you fix it.
THREAD
Tell me how you REALLY FEEL 😄😄😄
Mitch Benn (@MitchBenn) Tweeted:
HEY ASSHOLES.
He’s a fucking Russian spy. You put a RUSSIAN SPY in the White House. Because he said he’d shit on the Mexicans.
Go fuck yourselves and KEEP fucking yourselves with increasingly large objects, you fucking MORONS. https://twitter.com/MitchBenn/status/1018924225334214656?s=17
TELL.THAT.TRUTH.
America, WHITES, who support & voted for 45 to get back at the BLACK PRESIDENT, wanted that bitch in our WHITE HOUSE.
NOW WHAT?
Putin is using info 45 said in that one-one. IT WAS RECORDED..
Rashida Tlaib Might Become the First Muslim-American Woman in Congress
She served six years in the state legislature and has outraised her establishment-backed opponents.
Can she overcome them and bigotry at the same time?
https://www.thedailybeast.com/rashida-tlaib-might-become-the-first-muslim-american-woman-in-congress?via=newsletter&source=DDMorning
https://twitter.com/TAPAlerts/status/1019231604013707264
Putin’s bringing down the hammer on 45, now that the clown has taken a KNEE for him.
when a leader of a foreign country has taken over another country’s NEWS, GOVERNMENT, It’s very way of life, HE HAS BECOME the LEADER OF THAT COUNTRY
AMERICAN HAS BECOME RUSSIAN-OWNED.
Notice most of the word of the day fit 45 perfectly.
Word of the Day : July 17, 2018
Vouchsafeplay
verb vowch-SAYF
Definition
1 a : to grant or furnish often in a gracious or condescending manner
b : to give by way of reply
2 : to grant as a privilege or special favor
https://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/vouchsafe-2018-07-17?pronunciation&lang=en_us&dir=v&file=vouchs02&utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=wotd&utm_content=pron
McFaul: Trump with Putin shows U.S. ‘national security crisis’
Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia, talks with Rachel Maddow about the public reaction to Donald Trump’s deference to Vladimir Putin at their Helsinki press conference, and what the appropriate public response is to the realization that Donald Trump is beholden to another country.
Russian theft of DNC data paralleled Trump camp strategy changes
Glen Caplin, former senior national spokesman for the Clinton campaign, talks with Rachel Maddow about the theft of DNC analytics by Russian hackers, and how actions by the Trump campaign suggest they were using insights gained from the attack.
Maddow: Time for Americans to face ‘worst case scenario’ on Trump
Rachel Maddow notes that what ultimately explains a host of inexplicable developments in the story of the Donald Trump campaign is the worst case scenario that Trump is compromised by Russia, and points to the unfolding legal case as a guide for how to understand what has happened and what to do about it.
https://twitter.com/TomSteyer/status/1019003223737229313
Tacky azz muthaphucka
Trump: Redesigned Air Force One will have red, white and blue paint scheme
BY BRETT SAMUELS – 07/17/18 10:04 AM EDT
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/397390-trump-redesigned-air-force-one-will-have-red-white-and-blue-paint
Tacky AF
https://twitter.com/EdKrassen/status/1019219965616979969
that whole farce of a summit and that stank ass presser was scripted by RUSSIA.
WE ARE IN DEEP SHIT with the orange POS clown.
Truth. What does Congress need to impeach Trump? What does he have to do?
Could it be that majority of Congress are beholden to RUSSIA as well?
Migrant women describe sexual assault in ICE detention facilities: report
BY ARIS FOLLEY – 07/17/18 09:37 AM EDT
Migrant women described being sexually abused by guards while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a new report.
In a report published by The New York Times on Tuesday, two migrant women tell their stories of being allegedly sexually assaulted while detained in ICE facilities.
A woman identified as “Maria” described being sexually assaulted by a male guard in May shortly after she was released from the T. Don Hutto Residential Detention Center in Texas.
While her asylum case was pending, Maria said she had been permitted to stay in Washington, D.C., with her brother. She then described being escorted into a cage inside a van after gathering her belongings, where she claims she was groped by the guard.
“He grabbed my breasts … He put his hands in my pants and he touched my private parts,” Maria told the publication. “He touched me again inside the van, and my hands were tied. And he started masturbating.”
Another woman seeking asylum, identified as “E.D.,” claimed she was sexually assaulted by a male guard while she and her 3-year-old son were being held in a family detention center in Pennsylvania.
“I didn’t know how to refuse because he told me that I was going to be deported,” the 19-year-old woman said to the publication. “I was at a jail and he was a migration officer. It’s like they order you to do something and you have to do it.”
Lord, didn’t we say that these evil predators, dressed up as authority figures would commit these heinous acts of sexual assault.
The Devils are working overtime, and must be STOPPED.
Brooklyn school told 13-year-old to ‘move on’ after she reported rape: report
BY JACQUELINE THOMSEN – 07/17/18 09:42 AM EDT
A new lawsuit alleges that a Brooklyn school counselor told an eighth grade student in 2013 to “move on with your life” after she reported being raped by a classmate.
The New York Daily News reports that the girl, 13 at the time of the alleged assault, told a counselor at Spring Creek Community School that she had been raped in an alley near the school by a classmate, and that the assault was filmed, according to the complaint filed last week in Brooklyn Supreme Court.
The counselor reportedly told the girl that “if it happened, it happened — move on with your life.”
Video of the alleged assault later spread around the school, prompting school officials to contact the police. However, the student was too confused and intimidated to file charges, the lawsuit states.
A spokesman for New York City’s Law Department told the Daily News that the city agency will review the lawsuit.
The court filing also alleges that Principal Christina Koza urged the student to stay home from school while officials got the video “under control,” adding that her presence would “make things worse.”
The principal later told the student that the incident “looked consensual” when viewed by video, the Daily News reported.
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1019220179404779521
Video posted above. The sheer ignorance and gull to stand before cameras, the whole world and take a foreign president and adversary’s WORD, over actual EVIDENCE from AMERICAN INTEL…..
IT’S FUCKING MADDENING!
https://twitter.com/shannonrwatts/status/1018997211391188992
https://twitter.com/shannonrwatts/status/1018996837645074432
https://twitter.com/shannonrwatts/status/1018993410923888640
https://twitter.com/shannonrwatts/status/1018991238916132865
https://twitter.com/shannonrwatts/status/1018989717574971393
https://twitter.com/shannonrwatts/status/1018989033534382086
Russia has the GOP by their TEENIE, TINY balls
Clean up as in REMOVE him from office? You don’t get to clean up treason. We all heard him side with a hostile foreign power over our own intelligence agencies. IMPEACH HIM! #TreasonSummit
https://twitter.com/CBSNews/status/1019208931355299840
https://twitter.com/ECMcLaughlin/status/1019212676705030145
https://twitter.com/axios/status/1019215141349490693
https://twitter.com/davidhogg111/status/1019015669038264320
HA! Get’em David. These young folks have seen through the fuckery, from day one.
https://twitter.com/ChrisMurphyCT/status/1018903703225593857
https://twitter.com/jonswaine/status/1019020659991642117
Watch live South Africa where the annual Nelson Mandela lecture will be given by Former President Barack Obama:
https://abcnews.go.com/Live/video/special-live-1-14476486
https://twitter.com/Blavity/status/1019212719399022592
Congratulations, young ladies. Wishing you all the success you deserve and are worthy of.
Protests outside the White House as Trump arrived from Finland. It went on late into the night………..
https://twitter.com/krassenstein/status/1019209765421973504
This breaks my heart.
RIP, poor baby.
………………………………….
A valiant 7-year-old survived her father’s car crash. She died searching for help.
Meagan Flynn
Dear God. RIP, little angel.
OMG
https://twitter.com/RawStory/status/1019195043498921989
https://twitter.com/fred_guttenberg/status/1019206461375832064
WTF
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1019201440340795392
https://twitter.com/krassenstein/status/1019203817584328704
https://twitter.com/funder/status/1019206553008779265
https://twitter.com/Blavity/status/1019206658847920128
https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1019210138010488832
Home care workers the latest group in Trump team’s crosshairs
BY CAITLIN CONNOLLY, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR — 07/17/18 08:30 AM EDT
These muthaphuckas here!!!
……………………..
Mandalay Bay owners sue victims of Las Vegas mass shooting
PragmaticObotsUnite (@PragObots) Tweeted:
RT @DanRather: To GOP officials who are speaking out about today’s “Farce in Finland” – unless you start putting your votes and subpoena po… https://twitter.com/DanRather/status/1018939989088858112?s=17
https://twitter.com/cnbcafrica/status/1019188397380907013
PragmaticObotsUnite (@PragObots) Tweeted:
RT @Ithen_thought: @JakeSherman It is beyond my comprehension that @SenateGOP @HouseGOP can’t figure out what to do. 1) refuse to confirm a… https://twitter.com/Ithen_thought/status/1019181108393664513?s=17
https://twitter.com/MarkHertling/status/1018903520332996608
https://twitter.com/RepAdamSchiff/status/1018949426386219009
https://twitter.com/MaddowBlog/status/1019037654304919552
https://twitter.com/MaddowBlog/status/1019039207011086336
Get his ORANGE ASS OUT OF OUR WHITE HOUSE
https://twitter.com/MaddowBlog/status/1019039895870898176
https://twitter.com/MaddowBlog/status/1019044193547714561
https://twitter.com/MaddowBlog/status/1019050484110385153
https://twitter.com/MaddowBlog/status/1019076502875500544
https://twitter.com/SRuhle/status/1018878102972354560
PUTIN=ADVERSARY
https://twitter.com/NancyPelosi/status/1018879538762219520
https://twitter.com/CBSNews/status/1018883337950236672
https://twitter.com/JoyAnnReid/status/1018886586707120128
https://twitter.com/chucktodd/status/1018882850073010178
https://twitter.com/matthewamiller/status/1018881054583779328
Good Morning Everyone 😄 😄😄
Good Morning, Rikyrah & Everyone.
Faux Noise is not a legitimate news source.
IMO, Any & all garbage they spew in NOT TO BE TRUSTED. This includes Chris Wallace. They should all be considered MOUTHPIECES for 45, and therefore MOUTHPIECES for PUTIN.