While it's highly unusual for an accused Russian spy to cooperate with US prosecutors, early indications are that her cooperation is narrow in scope. This includes Torshin and a billionaire oligarch who bankrolled some of her projects and has reported ties to Russian intelligence. According to US intelligence, Russian military intelligence hacked the Democrats and then disseminated damaging information. CNN reported that at least 16 Trump campaign associates had contacts with Russians during the 2016 campaign or transition. Russian government accounts on Twitter, including the official handle of the Russian Foreign Ministry, have promoted the #FreeMariaButina hashtag.

Source: CNN December 13, 2018 00:33 UTC