WASHINGTON — To the conservative Americans she courted, Maria Butina was the right kind of Russian. She schmoozed with Republican presidential candidates, and became a supporter of Donald J. Trump. On Thursday, Ms. Butina, 30, pleaded guilty to a single charge of conspiring to act as a foreign agent in a deal with federal prosecutors. As part of the deal, Ms. Butina admitted to being involved in an organized effort, backed by Russian officials, to open up unofficial lines of communication with influential Americans in the N.R.A. Officials have said federal investigators are examining what Mr. Erickson and others who helped Ms. Butina knew about her links to the Russian government.

Source: New York Times December 13, 2018 16:54 UTC