Washington — A Russian national who built a powerful network of Republican contacts via the US gun rights lobby that reached into President Donald Trump’s circle admitted on Thursday acting as an illegal foreign agent. Maria Butina — the first Russian convicted in the sprawl of cases arising from Moscow’s interference in the 2016 presidential election — faces up to six months in prison, followed by likely deportation. Prosecutors said she launched a plan in March 2015 to develop ties with the Republican Party with the aim of influencing US foreign policy. She worked together with her American boyfriend, Republican operative and National Rifle Association insider Paul Erickson, to pursue the plan, they said. The plot was guided and financed in part by Alexander Torshin, an ally of President Vladimir Putin who was deputy governor of the Russian central bank until his retirement on November 30. At Torshin’s direction and with Erickson’s assistance, prosecutors said Butina “sought to es...
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