A Daily Beast Exclusive
Maria Butina allegedly helped her Russian handler meet with a congressional delegation in August 2015. That’s when these lawmakers—one Democrat, one Republican—were in Russia.
By Jackie Kucinich and Spencer Ackerman
Pro-Kremlin GOP Congressman Dana Rohrabacher met with a Putin ally in
Russia in August 2015, The Daily Beast has confirmed, matching an
account in Monday’s blockbuster FBI affidavit against accused Russian
spy Maria Butina.
Butina
was part of “discussions about the RUSSIAN OFFICIAL’s plans to meet
with a U.S. Congressman during a Congressional Delegation trip to Moscow
in August 2015,” FBI agent Kevin Helson’s affidavit swears. “In that
conversation, BUTINA noted she has the RUSSIAN OFFICIAL’s diplomatic
passport and can purchase a plane ticket for him from St. Petersburg to
Moscow.”
The official is widely believed to be Alexander Torshin,
an influential former Russian politician from Vladimir Putin’s party
who established trans-continental ties to the National Rifle Association.
The
lawmakers on that Congressional delegation were Rohrabacher and
Democrat Gregory Meeks of New York, the leadership of the House foreign
affairs subcommittee on Europe. They were in Russia from from August 4 to 6, 2015, the Congressional Record shows and their offices confirmed.
An aide to Rohrabacher, Ken Grubbs, told The Daily Beast that Rohrabacher met with Torshin.
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