美国检察官称俄罗斯妇女与间谍有联系

US Prosecutors² Say Russian Woman Has Ties to Spies

United States prosecutors have accused a Russian woman of being a Russian agent.

The officials say she used sex and deception³ to make connections with influential⁴ Americans.

The woman, Maria Butina, was observed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation⁵ (FBI) in a private meeting with a Russian diplomat⁶. The diplomat is suspected of being a spy in the U.S.

Prosecutors also said she had contact information for people believed to be employees of Russia’s Federal Security Services, or FSB. It is the successor to the KGB, the spy agency of the former Soviet⁷ Union.

The Justice Department prosecutors made the charges in court documents asking a judge to keep Butina in custody⁸.

She is living in the U.S. under a student visa.

Over the weekend, she was arrested and accused of infiltrating⁹ American organizations such as the National Rifle Association (NRA). She is also accused of gathering¹⁰ intelligence for a top Russian official.

Butina also helped establish a gun rights organization modeled on the NRA in 2012.

The NRA has not commented on the charges.

The government argues that Butina is likely to flee the U.S. Prosecutors said that her lease on an apartment ends later this month. Her belongings¹¹ were packed at the time of her arrest.

They added that her personal ties are to Russia and Americans she wanted “to exploit and influence.”

Prosecutors said Butina and the official sent messages to each other directly on the social media service Twitter.

One such exchange came a month before the U.S. presidential election. In it, Butina said she understood that “everything has to be quiet and careful.”

They also spoke¹² on January 20, 2017 when Butina sent the official a photograph of her near the U.S. Capitol on the day Donald Trump¹³ took office as president.

Russian official tied to Butina

Prosecutors have not named the Russian official. But reports say details in the court papers match the description of Alexander Torshin. He is a senior official in the Central Bank of the Russian Federation¹⁴.

Torshin became a lifetime NRA member in 2012. He was among a group of wealthy Russians and officials under U.S. sanctions for their associations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Prosecutors say the official directed Butina to gather intelligence on American officials and political organizations. She is also accused of trying to establish communication links for Russia.

Butina’s lawyer, Robert Driscoll, has called the charges “overblown.” He denied Butina was a Russian agent.

Driscoll said she was just a student, attending American University in the nation’s capital. He added she was seeking to support a better relationship between the U.S. and Russia.

Prosecutors also charge that she lived with an unnamed American political operative they call U.S. Person 1. Officials say Butina used the relationship to work for Russia.

The court document also charges that she “offered an individual other than U.S. Person 1 sex in exchange for a position within a special interest organization.”

Court papers do not name the individuals or the group.

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

prosecutor¹ - n. a government lawyer who accuses a person of a crime and who tries to prove that the person is guilty

deception - n. the act of making someone believe something that is not true

custody - n. the state of being kept in a prison or jail

infiltrate¹⁵ - v. to secretly join a group to get information or to do harm

lease - n. a legal agreement to use a car, house, apartment ...

exploit - v. to use someone in a way that helps you unfairly

sanction - n. an order that is given to limit or stop trade under international law

1 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

2 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。

3 deception   

n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计

参考例句：

• He admitted conspiring to obtain property by deception.他承认曾与人合谋骗取财产。
• He was jailed for two years for fraud and deception.他因为诈骗和欺诈入狱服刑两年。

4 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。

5 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。

6 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

7 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

8 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

9 infiltrating   

v.（使）渗透，（指思想）渗入人的心中( infiltrate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Be vigilant against the danger of enemy agents infiltrating the government and boring from within. 要警惕敌特渗入政府内部进行暗中破坏。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The metastatic melanoma is seen here to be infiltrating into the myocardium. 图示转移性黑色素瘤浸润到心肌。 来自互联网

10 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

11 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

12 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

13 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。

14 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

15 infiltrate   

vt./vi.渗入，透过；浸润

参考例句：

• The teacher tried to infiltrate her ideas into the children's minds.老师设法把她的思想渗透到孩子们的心中。
• It can infiltrate as much as 100 kilometers into enemy territory at night.可以在夜间深入敌领土100千米。