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New Charges Confirm That 'Infiltration' Was An Aspect Of Russian 2016 Attack

The Justice Department has charged a Russian woman who sought to cultivate influence with American political figures via the NRA, affirming a separate plank of the Kremlin's influence campaign.
Then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at the National Rifle Association's NRA-ILA Leadership Forum during the NRA Convention at the on May 20, 2016, in Louisville, Ky.

New charges against a woman who tried to build bridges between the Russian government and American political leaders via the National Rifle Association delivered a breakthrough in understanding one aspect of the attack on the 2016 election: "infiltration."

After months of questions and speculation as to how or whether the NRA connection might have worked, prosecutors have proffered an answer: the Russian woman, Maria Butina, was the intermediary between Russian government officials and Americans, both in the NRA and elsewhere in politics, according to court documents.

The government charges that she was acting as a foreign agent without registering. Her attorney called the charges overblown, as NPR's Carrie Johnson reported.

Butina serves or served as

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