Robert Neil Driscoll
said the allegation that Maria Butina is a spy is not supported by her behavior.
WASHINGTON, July 21.
/TASS/. The case of the Russian citizen Maria Butina, whom the US authorities
have arrested on charges of acting as an unregistered foreign agent, is very
weak, attorney Robert Neil Driscoll told TASS on Friday.
When TASS asked him
if the case could be viewed as attempt of the American ‘deep state’ to disrupt
President Donald Trump’s efforts to normalize the relations with Russia,
Driscoll gave a cautious answer.
"I can't tell
from where I sit what it is motivating the Government," he said. "All
I can tell is that the case against Maria Butina, from what I’ve seen, is very
weak."
"I’m not sure
what the motives of the prosecutors are," Driscoll went on. "But the
allegation, essentially, is that she is a spy, to me is not supported by her
behavior, particularly given the amount of time she’s under surveillance."
"And from what
I’ve seen and what the Government alleged, all she did wrong was establish a
channel of communication," Driscoll said. "I don’t see how
establishing a channel of communication is wrong. That’s no different than
meeting people."
"The case doesn’t
make any sense," he said. "She didn’t do anything that the spy would
do."
Along with it,
Driscoll declined to assess the chances for a success, saying this is always
rather difficult to do at the beginning.
Also, he said the
investigators had not yet familiarized Butina’s defense with the whole set of
evidence, which according to the US authorities pointed at her unacceptable
activities.
American lawyers
representing the arrested Russian citizen Maria Butina, whom the US security
services charge with acting as an unregistered foreign agent, are not sure if
they will appeal a resolution of the District Court for the District of
Columbia to keep Butina in custody, Driscoll added.
His words suggested
that they were not going to appeal the court’s ruling immediately.
"I’m not sure if
we’ll appeal or not," Driscoll said. "We might, we might not. But we
might revisit the issue at some point if it’s warranted. […] I don’t want to
say when."
During court hearings
on Wednesday, Judge Deborah Robinson to a decision to prolong Butina’s term of
custody. While Driscoll insisted on his client’s release on parole, the
attorney for the District of Columbia Eric Kenerson claimed Butina might escape
from the US and that is why she should be kept in custody while the trial is
underway.
Butina faces the
charges of conducting activities in the interests of a foreign without
registration at the Department of Justice as a foreign agent.
Maria Zakharova, the
Russian Foreign Ministry’s official spokesperson said earlier this week the US
claims against Butina were too far-fetched did not hold water.
Source: ITAR-TASS
21-07-2018
