美国国家公共电台 NPR Maria Butina Case Bolsters Understanding of 'Infiltration' In Russian 2016 Attack

 

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

The Justice Department is charging a Russian woman with conspiracy¹ as part of the attack on the 2016 presidential election. Her name is Maria Butina, and she has a hearing in court on Wednesday. We're going to talk now about where she fits into the larger story about the campaign to influence the presidential election.

And with us now to have that talk is NPR's national security editor Philip Ewing. Hey, Phil.

PHILIP EWING, BYLINE²: Hi, Ailsa.

CHANG: So who exactly is Maria Butina, and what are prosecutors³ accusing her of having done?

EWING: She's a young Russian woman. She's 29. And she's been a part of an effort by a handful of Russians and Americans to build political relationships in the United States via gun rights. And actually, her story is a little bit familiar to people who've been following the Russia investigation⁴. Our colleague Tim Mak has actually done a lot of the reporting about this. Butina and a Russian government official named Aleksandr Torshin were gun rights activists⁵ inside of Russia. Now, Russians don't enjoy Second Amendment⁶ rights. They don't have the kind of access to guns that Americans do. But as they begin to advocate for that, they begin to build relationships with the American National Rifle Association.

And that road worked two ways. They were able to come from Russia to the United States, in some cases physically⁷, and try and build connections via the NRA with American political leaders. Now, the FBI and the Justice Department say that Butina was basically acting⁸ as an agent of the foreign government - in this case Russia - by working with this other Russian, Aleksandr Torshin, and an American fundraiser named Paul Erickson. They say that she broke the law by not registering and that she also was conspiring⁹ with these other people to break the law, which is the substance of this criminal complaint.

CHANG: And why would Russians allegedly be so focused on currying¹⁰ favor with the NRA? Is that a reflection of their perception that the NRA is critically influential¹¹ in politics here?

EWING: The Russians wanted Trump¹² to win. The NRA is a very powerful organization in the United States. It seems like a very obvious way for them to gain entry into the world of Republican politics, which is what this criminal complaint describes. There's also a number of messages in the court documents from Butina to other people talking about these efforts, talking about the goals of influencing the presidential race in 2016. And there's evidence from elsewhere that supports this thesis. In fact, the House Intelligence Committee earlier this year released an email by one of the Americans who's involved, this Paul Erickson, to people who are working for the Trump campaign.

And I'm just going to read it to you now. Here's what he wrote. (Reading) I'm writing to you in your roles as Trump foreign policy experts, advisers¹³. Happenstance and the sometimes international reach of the NRA placed me in a position a couple of years ago to slowly begin cultivating a back channel to President Putin's Kremlin. Russia is quietly but actively¹⁴ seeking a dialogue with the U.S. that isn't forthcoming under the current administration.

So the Russians wanted a new administration. They wanted it to be a Republican administration and to be an administration of President Donald Trump. In fact, we heard the Russian president Mr. Putin say on Monday in Helsinki with Trump that, yes, he did support Trump in 2016. What these court documents suggest is there were all kinds of other efforts taking place behind the scenes to bring that about.

CHANG: So this criminal complaint against Butina - this did not come out of special counsel Robert Mueller's office, right?

EWING: That's right. This is from the National Security Division of the Justice Department.

CHANG: So how is it connected to this wider investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election?

EWING: Well, one thing it tells us is that there were many paths or lanes for what intelligence types call these active measures that Russia has been waging against the United States. We know about the cyberattacks, the theft of emails that were later released to embarrass their targets. We know about the targeting of state election systems, secretary of state's offices and voter records and things of that nature. And we know about the contacts for human people working for the Trump campaign made by Russian intelligence officers. And what it also tells us is that according to the Justice Department, there were also these human agents working inside the United States, too.

CHANG: All right, that's NPR's Phil Ewing. Thank you, Phil.

EWING: Thank you.

CHANG: And a final note - Butina was indicted¹⁵ in Washington, D.C., this afternoon by a grand jury.

1 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

4 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

5 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

7 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

8 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

9 conspiring   

密谋( conspire的现在分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致

参考例句：

• They were accused of conspiring against the king. 他们被指控阴谋反对国王。
• John Brown and his associates were tried for conspiring to overthrow the slave states. 约翰·布朗和他的合伙者们由于密谋推翻实行奴隶制度的美国各州而被审讯。

10 currying   

加脂操作

参考例句：

• He dislikes so currying favor with to him. 他讨厌对他如此巴结。 来自辞典例句
• He was currying favour with Bulstrode for the sake of making himself important. 他是一心巴结布尔斯特罗德，好让自己向上爬。 来自辞典例句

11 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

12 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

13 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

14 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

15 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。