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It is not known why Butina retained an attorney at that point, and her current lawyer, Robert Driscoll, told BuzzFeed News that his firm was not the recipient of the money.
Butina was listed as the “sole signer” on its checking account, but Erickson wrote and signed checks from it. He told McClatchy that Bridges was formed to help Butina obtain financial assistance for her graduate studies. Last year their financial activity seemed to escalate.
That person, federal authorities told BuzzFeed News, is Alexander Torshin — Butina’s former boss, once a member of Russia’s upper house of parliament, and a close confidant of President Vladimir Putin. In 2015, Torshin was appointed deputy governor of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and Butina was hired as his special assistant.
• About $93,000 was sent or received during a single four-month period — from May to August 2017, after Butina had arrived in the US and was attending graduate school at American University in Washington, DC.
She faced a maximum sentence of five years in prison and, according to a CNN report, will "likely be deported after serving any time." On April 26, 2019, Butina was sentenced to 18 months in prison by Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, in accordance with the recommendations of prosecutors.
Robert Cletus Driscoll (March 3, 1937 – c. March 30, 1968) was an American actor known for his film and television performances from 1943 to 1960....Bobby DriscollOccupationActorYears active1943–1965Notable workSong of the South (1946) So Dear to My Heart (1949) Treasure Island (1950) Peter Pan (1953)7 more rows
March 30, 1968Bobby Driscoll / Date of death
Marylin Jean RushBobby Driscoll / Spouse (m. 1956–1960)
In June and July, Erickson sent two checks labeled “Butina retainer” to a Washington law firm. It appeared to bank examiners that he was filling out checks for her rent and utilities, but she was signing them. She paid a Washington limousine service $5,300.
Last month, Butina was arrested and indicted on charges of “conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government.”.
Federal investigators say some of the money went to Maria Butina’s campaign to help Russia infiltrate American politics.
Butina, meanwhile, began visiting the US in 2014 and making allies in conservative politics, particularly among guns rights advocates, prosecutors say. In March 2015, according to an email in which the duo discussed what prosecutors describe as a covert influence operation, Erickson told Butina that she would need significant resources to get “the project” off the ground.
According to federal prosecutors, Butina began her secret influence campaign in 2014 with the help of an unnamed US political operative. That operative, law enforcement sources told BuzzFeed News, is Erickson.
In addition to Erickson’s help in the US, Butina, prosecutors say, had a powerful benefactor back in Russia. Her indictment said that she was communicating with Russian intelligence while here and was “acting at the direction of a high-level official in the Russian government.”
He frequently made payments on her behalf; the recipients have not been identified. He sometimes appeared to write checks that Butina signed. The bank closed the duo’s personal and business accounts in late 2017. Erickson did not return a message left on his cellphone or detailed emails seeking comment.