Butina's Defense Asks US Court To Exclude Testimony Alleging She Acted On Behalf Of Moscow

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd April, 2019) The defense of Russian national Maria Butina, who is detained in the United States on charges of conspiring to act as a foreign agent, has requested the US District Court for the District of Columbia to exclude from the case materials the testimony of ex-FBI officer Robert Anderson, in which he has claimed that Butina acted on behalf of the Russian government.

Anderson claims that Butina was tasked with gathering intelligence information for the Russian government, while her defense considers his testimony as unreliable.

"Defendant Maria Butina, by counsel, files this motion to exclude the opinions and testimony of Robert Anderson, Jr. ... His testimonial opinions are unreliable. His declaration can only be described as rife with speculation, circular logic, and bereft of any factual support ... The [US] government and Anderson have not offered any reliable information or specific evidence to support the testimonial conclusions and declaration.

Thus, the court should exclude and strike them," Butina's defense motion, filed on Sunday, read.

Butina was arrested in Washington in mid-July last year on suspicion of working as an unregistered foreign agent for the Russian government. The young woman initially denied the charges, but last December, she agreed to cooperate with the prosecution and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to act as a foreign agent.

Sentencing in Butina's case is scheduled for April 26. Earlier in the week, US prosecutors have recommended to the court to give her an 18-month jail term.

Both Butina's defense and US prosecutors have requested the court that the Russian national be deported immediately after sentencing.