Alleged Russian agent Maria Butina allegedly had high-ranking contacts in Washington. He allegedly took part in the 2015 meetings between a Russian official and two senior officials from the US Federal Reserve and Treasury Department. The meetings involved Stanley Fischer, vice president of the Fed at the time, and Nathan Sheets, then undersecretary of the Treasury for international affairs.
Butina traveled to the United States in April 2015 with Alexander Torshin, then deputy governor of the Russian Central Bank, to attend two separate meetings with Fischer and Sheets to discuss economic relations between the United States and Russia, during the administration of the former Democratic President Barack Obama. The two meetings reveal Butina's activity in the United States, where she has always sought contacts with influential American political leaders and various power groups. Butina's attorney, Robert Driscoll, heard by Reuters, said he did not have details of his client's attendance at meetings with Treasury and Federal Reserve officials. The meetings with Fischer and Sheets were organized by the Center for National Interest, a group of experts on Washington's foreign policy that supports the American administration in improving relations between the United States and Russia. In articles in the Center's magazine, The National Interest, think tank members warned, for example, of the costs for the United States of facing Russia or getting involved in Eurasian conflicts. The meetings were documented in a report by the Center for National Interest which saw Reuters and which highlights the activities on Russia from 2013 to 2015. The report justified the meetings as a support to bring together "the main representatives of the financial institutions of the United and Russia ".
The scandal erupted when a judge last week had Butina arrested on charges of conspiring against the United States of America as a secret agent in the pay of the Russian Federation. US prosecutors considered placing her under arrest for the risk that she could escape from the United States. Butina has always pleaded innocent and will appear in court on Wednesday. The Russian foreign minister wrote to the US Secretary of State saying Butina was arrested on "fabricated charges" and should be released immediately. Butina worked for Torshin, who has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and has served as an interpreter at various events in Washington. Fischer, in an e-mail sent to Reuters, confirmed that he had met Torshin and his interpreter. While he couldn't remember if the interpreter was Butina, Fischer said the conversation was about "the state of the Russian economy" and Torshin's new role as deputy central bank governor. Another person who knows the details of the meeting, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it took place on April 7, 2015 and confirmed that Butina attended, as an interpreter. Saunders, the think tank's executive director, said Torshin spoke at an April 2015 event about the Russian banking system and Butina attended as Torshin's interpreter.
“We were not aware of any allegations or suspicions of illegal or inappropriate conduct or of any connection with Russian intelligence services,” Saunders said in an email. Federal prosecutors accused Butina of conspiring with two American citizens and a senior Russian official to influence US policy towards Russia and infiltrating a group believed to be the National Rifle Association. The NRA is an influential pro-gun lobby with close ties to Republican politicians including President Donald Trump. Questions related to Russia have cast a shadow over the Trump presidency. The description of the main Russian official mentioned in the indictment corresponds to Torshin. The prosecution said that starting in 2015, Butina and the official conspired to "promote the interests of the Russian Federation".
The Treasury Department in April imposed sanctions on Torshin and a number of other Russian businessmen and government officials in Putin's inner circle.
The think tank magazine hosted Trump at an event at Washington's Mayflower Hotel in April 2016, which was also attended by Sergei Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to Washington.
Butina and Torshin's April 2015 visit came about a year after the Obama administration imposed sanctions on Russia for its annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region. Two months earlier, in February 2015, Dimitri Simes, a Russian expert from the Center for National Interest, traveled to Moscow, where he met Putin and other Russian officials.
Among the members of the Center for National Interest's expert committee are David Keene, former president of the NRA and former president of the American Conservative Union. Keene was previously photographed alongside Butina during the events. Reuters was unable to contact him for comment. Prosecutors said the think tank's magazine ran an article by Butina in June 2015 in which it was written that "certain Russian and American politicians share many common interests." Randy Weber, a United States Republican Congressman from Texas, met Torshin during the April trip, according to the think tank documents. A Weber spokesperson, however, did not respond to phone calls or emails to verify the information.