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17:53 GMT
WASHINGTON, July 18 (KUNA) -- Maria Butina, a Russian arrested on charges of being a foreign agent, had links to Russian intelligence operatives and was in contact with them while in the US, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday.
Butina also had ties to wealthy businessmen linked to Russia President Vladimir Putin and appeared to have plans to flee the US, the prosecutors said in a new court filing.
She was arrested Sunday and indicted Tuesday on charges of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government and failing to register as an agent of a foreign government.
Butina was scheduled for a detention hearing Wednesday on whether to release her from jail before trial, but prosecutors filed a motion outlining why she should be held without bond.
She entered the US on a student visa in 2016, and her lawyer said that she had recently earned a master's degree from American University in international relations.
Officials said that Butina drew the attention of the Federal Bureau of Investigation after she began making frequent contacts with leaders of the National Rifle Association and the Republican Party.
She has appeared in photographs with various Republican politicians, and even asked then-candidate Donald Trump a question during a public forum in 2015. (end)
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