So Much for the Sex Temptress Russian Spy? Prosecutors Admit to Major Screw-Up

[FakeNoose]

Link: https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/so-much-for-the-sex-temptress-russian-spy-prosecutors-admit-to-major-screw-up/

Law & Crime blog, Monday 9/10/18
By Matt Naham

The lawyer for accused Russian agent Mariia “Maria” Butina is mad as heck and isn’t going to take it anymore, it seems.

Robert Driscoll was none too pleased that federal prosecutors buried on page 19 of a “near midnight” filing on Saturday the fact that they were wrong when they said Butina offered sex “in exchange for a position with a public interest organization.”

Driscoll responded on Sunday evening, saying that the government’s filing was an “extraordinary document that reeks of desperation.”

“On page 19 of a 22-page brief filed near midnight, the government shamelessly admits it had no factual basis for a proffer made in court that Maria Butina ‘offered . . . sex’ in exchange for a position with a public interest organization,” he said.

He added in a footnote that the government’s focus on Butina’s sex life has “gone too far and transformed into an irrelevant obsession.”

- more at link -

Bottom line - if the judge lets her out of jail, she's gone! Don't let her post bail, she's a severe flight risk.

[DonCoquixote]

1. severe flight risk

Though right after she does the obligatory "I got away with it nyah nyah" article, she will need to hire people to taste her food, half of them will set off the geiger counters after breakfast.

[FakeNoose]

2. I think Pootie would protect her if she made it back to Russia

She seems to be part of the oligarchs' In-Crowd over there in Moscow.

[DonCoquixote]

15. I give you a quote

"The graveyards are full of people the world could not do without." Elbert Hubbard.

This goes double for women, who are easy for men in power to dispose of.

[wiggs]

3. source appears to be a tabloid type crime website. Quotes only Butina's attorney. Not sure

it's a major screw up by prosecution...way too little info to judge what the whole government filing actually said and whether is does or doesn't mean anything. The quote provided from the government filing in fact says that they have plenty of OTHER evidence that challenges the defense claims of no proffer of sex. I find the headline misleading, therefore. Sex sells.

Just Butina's attorney doing a Giuliani to try to change public perception and also get his client out of jail...

[FakeNoose]

4. It's not a tabloid blog

This is Dan Abrams' Law & Crime blog.

He's the lawyer who used to be a regular celebrity commenter on NBC News and MSNBC. Now he does his own video programming on this blog and it's pretty widely read. As for the quote that I posted - I'm only allowed to provide the first 4 paragraphs from the article on DU. That's our standard rule. You are expected to use the link I provided to see the rest of the article. There is more info at the link, I assure you.

[oberliner]

5. Sounds like this was not handled well

[RhodeIslandOne]

6. Mmmmm, really

I'm sure.

[Hortensis]

7. FakeNoose, they have her for espionage.

So they delete this allegation from the description of one charge on a long list. Major screw-up? Not at all. Why are you presenting this trashy article as if her attorney's bloviations were facts?

Btw, we really shouldn't assume she hasn't used sex in her spy operations, even if not in the situation listed. We know she had a relationship with Paul Erickson, who is heavily involved in South Dakota and national politics, through whom she made many useful contacts.

WaPo: Erickson matches a description of an American described in court filings as a political operative who helped introduce Butina to influential American political figures “for the purpose of advancing the agenda of the Russian Federation.”

[Chakaconcarne]

8. I heard on NPR this am the mention of Scott Walker....

[Kingofalldems]

9. Oops.

Link to tweet

[FakeNoose]

11. Awesome news - and thanks for the update

[uponit7771]

10. So that makes her ... NOT ... a flight risk? Thx in advance

[FakeNoose]

12. Her lawyer's efforts have flopped, she's not getting out

[uponit7771]

13. cool, sounded kinda desperate

[Roland99]

14. The sexting is a distraction. It's not the story nor the case.

Link to tweet