S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Russia’s foreign minister told his American counterpart on Saturday a woman arrested in the US on accusations she was a Russian agent was detained on “fabricated charges” and should be released.
Sergei Lavrov made the comments about Maria Butina in a phone call to the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, that was aimed at improving bilateral relations, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement in the wake of the recent summit in Helsinki.
On Wednesday, a US judge ordered Butina jailed until her trial after prosecutors argued she had ties to Russian intelligence and could flee the country.
Butina has been accused of working with a high-powered Russian official and two unidentified US citizens, trying to infiltrate the National Rifle Association and influence US policy toward Russia .
Lavrov said the actions of the American authorities, who arrested Butina “on the basis of fabricated charges”, were unacceptable and called for her release as soon as possible.
Lavrov and Pompeo also discussed ways to improve bilateral relations on “equal and mutually beneficial grounds” after Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump met in Helsinki on Monday.
They also talked over possible joint efforts aimed at improving the humanitarian situation in Syria, the statement said, and the “challenges” of nuclear talks with North Korea.
What will the president* say?
I know what I'd say. I'd ask if they'd like a live feed of her interrogation.
Unlike you, I don't care what he says. Here is what I have to say: Butina has been charged with serving as a foreign agent without registering.
How many individuals living in those town houses in DC or those expensive suburbs (were many federal government employees reside) in northern Virginia are guilty of the same thing?
How fairly is the law on registering as a foreign agent?
It would seem that even after one is found to be in violation of this regulation, they only need to register and all is forgiven, EXCEPT that SOME people actually get prosecuted for it.
Why is that John???
Please list some others who have been accused of similar and if they were charged with a crime.
Relevance?
Well after a review of the statute, it looks pretty clear an concise to me. What would make it 'unfair'?
Who are you talking about Vic?
John, she has only been charged with not registering under FARA
I can't improve on the English language, but I'll try again, there are plenty of people in the DC area who work in behalf of foreign nations and or organizations who are not registered under FARA
What would make it unfair?
Again & again, to not apply it to everyone who violates it. You can't let some off by simply registering when caught and prosecute others.
Who am I talking about?
Well, for example, Tony Podesta failed to register under the Act when he agreed to represent Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank. Why wasn't he prosecuted???
Why should she be released but immigrant children whose only crime was crossing the border are being detained in cages?
One has nothing to do with the other. I'll be glad to discuss immigration law with you within the proper place & time. Here we are trying to find out why some people are prosecuted and others are not under the FARA Act
You also can't seem to answer the question either. How many other people there are in DC doing the same thing is irrelevant.
Sure you can, it's called prosecutorial discretion. A cop decides to give you a warning and gives me a ticket. A prosecutor decides to give me a plea deal and prosecutes you to the full extent of the law. It happens all the time.
False. You really shouldn't believe everything the Daily Caller prints...
BTW, I thought you were going to name Rudy Giuliani, who represents multiple 'foreign principles' and has yet to register with the Government.
Here try this:
Vague Exemptions
By this point, one might wonder why there are not tens of thousands of FARA registrants
( currently there are only a few hundred ). Apart from non-compliance, which is common , the
main explanation is that even when the registration triggers are satisfied, there are several
statutory and regulatory “exemptions” that can be relied upon to exempt a person from
registration. Unfortunately, the most widely used exemptions are not well defined , DOJ’s
publicly available regulations and advisory opinions interpreting them are extremely sparse, and
there is essentially zero case law.
Thus, the law is being applied both randomly & unfairly & politically!!!
I rest my case
So you rest your case even though I just proved that your only example of your posit, the Podesta Group, WAS registered with under the FARA?
Don't know why I'd expect more.
BTW, I think the mods are done 'reviewing' your flags on your seed, you can unlock it now.
LOL, What you did was prove my point. I assume you accept NBC News?
Here:
The Podesta Group amended its FARA registration to accurately reflect its work with ECMU only after the payments were reported by the media. Manafort's firm also filed a FARA registration after media reports in June disclosed its work in Ukraine from 2012 through 2014.
Thanks for the link - it showed how Podesta went out and registered AFTER the cat was out of the bag, just as Manafort had done. Much different treatment for each of them.
I wasn't trying to trap you. You walked into that one.
I hate to return after I close out a case, but for you it's been a pleasure.
So you went from making a FALSE claim about the Podesta Group's work for Sberbank to citing a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ISSUE connected to the ECMU.
BTW, the NBC article is very poorly sourced.
Actually, that isn't what it shows at all. It PROVES that they WERE filed with FARA for thir work with Sberbank which was in 2016, NOT 2012 - 2014.
Wow that's a seriously delusional statement.
BTFW, I see that you failed to note that Manafort hasn't been charged under FARA either.
"fabricated charges." ? ?
The Putin Regime knows a lot about 'fabricated charges.' It uses them against political opposition, journalists and even oligarchs that finally come to the conclusion that 'enough is enough.'
Pompeo. Don't trust him.
Has the President pardoned her yet?
Fuc_ Russia!
apparently
a few of our conservative Christians Brothers Whiskied and did
It’s not unusual to deny bail and jail a defendant if the prosecution can show that the defendant poses a high risk of fleeing the country and not showing up for trial. The prosecution said her cover as an agent was blown, she doesn’t have any real ties to this country, her lease was up, she was packing her things preparing to move, and she was in communication with someone the prosecution described as a Russian operative. I can see why the judge thought she was a flight risk.