OFFICIAL planned to advance Moscow's long-term strategic objectives in the United States, in part, by establishing relationships with American political organizations, including the GUN RIGHTS ORGANIZATION. Based on my training, experience and familiarity with this investigation, I believe that BUTINA and the RUSSIAN OFFICIAL took these steps in order to infiltrate those groups and advance the interests of the Russian Federation.
16. The Russian influence operation included, among other things, (i) taskings from the RUSSIAN OFFICIAL to BUTINA; (ii) meetings between BUTINA and U.S. politicians and political candidates; (iii) BUTINA's attendance at events sponsored by special interest groups, also attended by U.S. politicians and political candidates; and (iv) BUTINA's reporting back to Moscow through the RUSSIAN OFFICIAL the results of the various encounters with the US. politicians and political candidates.
Laying the Groundwork in Russia
17. During the course of her work as a covert Russian agent, BUTINA regularly met and communicated with the RUSSIAN OFFICIAL and U.S. Person 1 to plan and develop the contours of the influence operation.
18. On or about March 24, 2015, BUTINA emailed U.S. Person 1 with the subject line of "The Second Pozner."[1] The body of this email also contained a project proposal. BUTINA noted to U.S. Person 1 in the email that she was sending the "Google Translator text. Maybe I could translate it myself but it would take at least a day because the text is very specific." She went on to note that she "will be happy to answer to any your questions [sic] and follow your recommendations before a [sic] finally send it." The first line of the proposal reads, "Project Description 'Diplomacy.'" It goes on to state that a major U.S. political party [hereinafter
- ↑ I believe that this statement likely refers to Vladimir Pozner, a propagandist who served in the disinformation department of the Soviet KGB and who often appeared on Western television to explain the views of the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
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