Prevagen. Healthier Brain. Better Life.
Better Life. >>> IF PRESIDENT TRUMP NEEDED A
REMINDER ABOUT THE DANGER RUSSIA
POSES, ALL HE HAD TO DO WAS TURN
TO HIS OWN DEPARTMENT OF
JUSTICE.
JUSTICE. TODAY, MARIA BUTINA WAS ORDERED
WITHOUT BAIL.
WITHOUT BAIL. AND THE PROSECUTORS ARGUED SHE
WAS AN EXTREME FLIGHT RISK.
THAT SHE WOULD SKIP OUT OF THE
COUNTRY.
COUNTRY. THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
PORTRAYED, SHE WAS IN REGULAR
CONTACT WITH THE FSB USING SEX
AND DECEPTION TO FORGE IMPORTANT
POLITICAL CONNECTIONS.
POLITICAL CONNECTIONS. WORKING COVERTLY, SHE
ESTABLISHED BANK CHANNEL LINES
TO ORGANIZATIONS WHICH INCLUDE
THE NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION.
THEY QUOTE, THESE LINES COULD BE
USED BY THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
TO PENETRATE THE U.S. NATIONAL
DECISION MAKING APPARATUS TO
ADVANCE THE AGENDA OF THE
RUSSIAN FEDERATION.
RUSSIAN FEDERATION. THE "WASHINGTON POST" REPORTS IT
WAS THOSE CONTACTS THAT LANDED
HER ON THE FBI’S RADAR.
FOR MORE, I’M JOINED BY KEN
DELANIAN.
DELANIAN. WHAT DO YOU THINK SHE WAS UP TO
IN THE UNITED STATES?
IT SEEMS LIKE A GREAT STORY
HERE.
HERE. >> Reporter: IT’S INCREDIBLE.
SHE WAS AN AGENT OF INFLUENCE.
SHE’S NOT ACCUSED OF TRYING TO
GET MILITARY SECRETS.
THAT’S WHY SHE’S NOT CHARGED
WITH ESPIONAGE.
WITH ESPIONAGE. SHE IS ACCUSED OF TRYING ON
BUILD A BACK CHANNEL, TO
SPECIFICALLY REPUBLICAN
SPECIFICALLY REPUBLICAN POLITICIANS THROUGH NATIONAL
RIFLE ASSOCIATION.
RIFLE ASSOCIATION. IT IS AMAZING.
THOSE OF US WHO COVER THIS CASE
CLOSELY HAVE KNOWN ABOUT HER FOR
SOME TIME BUT NEVER IN MY
WILDEST DREAMS DID I IMAGINE THE
FBI WOULD UNCOVER A PLOT THIS
ELABORATE.
ELABORATE. THAT SHE WAS IN TOUCH AND BEING
HANDLED BY RUSSIAN INTELLIGENCE
OFFICIALS.
OFFICIALS. DON’T FORGET, HER MAIN HANDLER
WAS ALEXANDER TORSHIN, A RUSSIAN
BANKER WHO TRIED TO BROKER A
DEAL BETWEEN PUTIN AND TRUMP
DURING THE CAMPAIGN.
HE WAS TRYING TO MEET WITH
KUSHNER.
KUSHNER. HE ENDED UP BEING WITH DONALD
TRUMP JR.
TRUMP JR. SO THIS APPEARS TO BE A RUSSIAN
OPERATION TO INFILTRATE THE NRA,
REPUBLICAN POLITICIANS, TO
ESSENTIALLY BUILD INFLUENCE IN
WASHINGTON WHICH IS MORE
VALUABLE IN SOME WAYS TO THE
RUSSIANS THAN THE SECRETS OF THE
F-35.
F-35. WE WON’T BE IN A SHOOTING WAR
WITH RUSSIA ANY TIME SOON BUT
THERE’S A LOT OF DIPLOMATIC BACK
AND FORTH.
AND FORTH. AS WE’VE SEEN THIS WEEK.
AND IT IS IMPORTANT TO HAVE
ALLIES IN CONGRESS.
>> A COUPLE OF RESTAURANTS IN
WASHINGTON I WILL NOT NAME THEM,
THAT HAVE A HISTORY OF SPIES
HANGING OUT.
HANGING OUT. AND SORT OF THE COLOR OF THE
GAME.
GAME. AND I THINK TODAY THEY HAD THE
FEEL OF IT.
WHEN DO YOU GO FROM BEING AN
AGENT TO BEING A SPY?
SOMEONE INVOLVED IN SUBVERSION,
REALLY.
REALLY. >> SO HE HIT THE NAIL ON THE
HEAD.
HEAD. SHE IS AN EXAMPLE OF SOMEONE WE
KNOW RIGHT NOW, AND THERE COULD
BE MORE TO COME.
SHE WAS ACTING, USING HER
POSITION HERE TO TRY ASSERT
INFLUENCE ON AMERICAN POLITICS
ON THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IN
PARTICULAR.
PARTICULAR. AS OPPOSED TO SOMEONE CHARGED
WITH ESPIONAGE.
WITH ESPIONAGE. UNDER THE TECHNICAL SENSE OF THE
STATUTE, WOULD IT REQUIRE
SOMEONE TO BE TAKING INFORMATION
OR SOMETHING OF VALUE TO THE
FOREIGN POWER OR A PERSON NOT
AUTHORIZED TO HAVE IT.
RIGHT NOW WE DON’T HAVE ANY
INDICATION THAT SHE WAS DOING
THAT.
THAT. IT SHOULD BE SAID THAT THERE
COULD BE MORE TO COME.
AS EVERYONE KNOWS, THERE COULD
BE SUPERSEDING CHARGES.
AND SOMETIMES PROSECUTORS WANT
TO CHARGE WHAT IS MORE EASILY
CHARGEABLE.
CHARGEABLE. YOU WOULD BE REPORTING BACK
INFORMATION AS YOU SOUGHT MORE
INFORMATION.
INFORMATION. YOU WOULD BE SAYING, HERE’S WHAT
I HEARD.
I HEARD. HERE’S WHAT I FOUND ABOUT A
CONNECTION FROM SOMEBODY TO
SOMEBODY THAT COULD BE USEFUL.
IT SEEMS YOU ARE REPORTING BACK
INFORMATION.
INFORMATION. >> I THINK THERE’S OVERLAP.
THE ESPIONAGE STATUTES ARE VERY
PARTICULAR, THE MORE NARROW, IT
SEEMS LIKE WHAT THEY WENT WITH
HERE.
HERE. WE’RE NOT SAYING SHE COULDN’T BE
CHARGED BUT FOR NOW THIS IS THE
BROADER STATUTE.
BROADER STATUTE. IT SEEMS TO CAPTURE MORE
CORRECTLY THE NATURE OF WHAT SHE
WAS TRYING TO DO HERE.
AS I WAS SAYING, THEY MAY NOT
WANT TO REVEAL OTHER INFORMATION
ABOUT WHAT SHE WAS COMMUNICATING
BACK.
BACK. THAT MIGHT LEAD TO REVEALING
CLASSIFIED INFORMATION.
CLASSIFIED INFORMATION. SO THIS IS A SAFER COURSE.
>> SHE WAS TRYING BROKER BETWEEN
DONALD TRUMP THE CANDIDATE AND
PUTIN.
PUTIN. WEEKS AFTER ANNOUNCED FOR THE
PRESIDENCY, BUTINA WAS ABLE TO
QUESTION HIM ON RUSSIAN
SANCTIONS.
SANCTIONS. THIS IS AN OPEN CONVERSATION
HERE.
HERE. >> IF YOU WOULD BE ELECTED
PRESIDENT, WHAT WOULD BE FOREIGN
POLITICS ESPECIALLY IN THE
RELATIONSHIPS WITH MY COUNTRY,
AND DO YOU WANT TO CONTINUE THE
POLITICS OF SANCTIONS, OR YOU
HAVE ANY OTHER IDEAS?
>> I KNOW PUTIN AND I’LL TELL
YOU WHAT.
YOU WHAT. WE GET ALONG WITH PUTIN.
I BELIEVE I WOULD GET ALONG VERY
NICELY WITH PUTIN.
OKAY?
OKAY? AND I MEAN, WHERE WE HAVE THE
STRENGTH.
STRENGTH. I DON’T THINK YOU NEED THE
SANCTIONS.
SANCTIONS. I THINK WE WOULD GET ALONG VERY,
VERY WELL.
VERY WELL. >> WELL, DONALD TRUMP WASN’T THE
ONLY HIGH PROFILE REPUBLICAN
OFFICIAL THAT BUTINA HAD ACCESS
TO IN THE RUN-UP TO THE
ELECTION.
ELECTION. SHE MET WITH THE WISCONSIN
GOVERNOR, SCOTT WALKER, RICK
SANTORUM, AND THE FORMER
GOVERNOR BOBBY JINDAL.
WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THESE
CONTACTS?
CONTACTS? IT LOOKS LIKE SHE WAS TRYING TO
DO SOMETHING ACTIVE.
>> RIGHT.
>> RIGHT. THE QUESTION REALLY IS, WAS SHE
TRYING GENERALLY ASSERT
INFLUENCE IN THE REPUBLICAN
PARTY?
PARTY? OR WAS SHE IN SOME WAY CONNECTED
TO THE INFLUENCE OPERATION WITH
RESPECT TO THE ELECTION?
AND YOU KNOW, I KNOW THERE WAS
SOME REPORTING ABOUT THAT
QUESTION.
QUESTION. THAT CLIP THAT YOU PLAYED OF HER
ASKING TRUMP THAT QUESTION.
THAT SEEMED VERY PLANTED IF YOU
WILL AND HE HAD A VERY PREPARED
ANSWER.
ANSWER. SO IT DOES MAKE YOU, ONE WONDER,
FROM THE PROSECUTOR PERSPECTIVE,
WONDERING MEANS INVESTIGATE.
SO I’M SURE IF THERE IS A
CONNECTION BETWEEN WHAT SHE’S
DOING, WHAT SHE’S DONE, AND THE
ATTEMPTS TO INFLUENCE THE
ELECTION PER SE, THAT IS WHEN IT
WOULD COME INTO MUELLER
TERRITORY.
TERRITORY. >> DO YOU THINK THEY WERE TRYING
ON GET CANDIDATE TRUMP ON THE
RECORD?
RECORD? >> I THINK YOU’RE RIGHT.
THIS STARTED AS SOMETHING BY THE
RUSSIANS.
RUSSIANS. WE WONDER HOW THE REPUBLICAN
PARTY WHICH HAD BEEN HARD LINE
ON RUSSIA FOR YEARS, SUDDENLY
BECAME SO SYMPATHETIC TO RUSSIA.
THIS IS ONE OF THE WAYS.
THIS WAS A SECRET RUSSIAN
OPERATION WITH BACKED BY RUSSIAN
MONEY TO INFLUENCE REPUBLICAN
POLITICIANS AND SHE WAS PART OF
IT.
IT. IT WAS SEPARATE.
IT LOOKS LIKE IT WAS SEPARATE
FROM THE TRUMP, THE RUSSIAN
EFFORT TO MEDDLE IN THE ELECTION
BUT IT MAY HAVE COME TOGETHER
AND THAT’S WHY MUELLER IS VERY
INTERESTED IN THIS.
THERE IS A SALACIOUS ASPECT OF
IT.
IT. THIS WOMAN IS ACCUSED OF USING
SEX TO GET A JOB.
SHE WAS LIVING WITH A REPUBLICAN