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Friday, March 29, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Judges Agrees to Postpone Butina Court Hearing

Accused Russian spy Maria Butina on Thursday joined the government in asking a federal judge to delay the next hearing on her case's docket, a status conference that had been set for next month.   

WASHINGTON (CN) - A federal judge on Friday granted a request from accused Russian spy Maria Butina and the government that a status conference set for next month be pushed back until December.

Butina and the government on Thursday asked a federal judge to delay the next hearing on her case's docket, a status conference that had been set for next month.

Instead of holding a status conference on Nov. 13 as planned, Butina and the government asked U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Thursday to choose between a date in early December for the hearing.

The parties also asked Chutkan to push back the motions schedule in the case to correspond with the delay in the hearing.

"In support of this motion, the parties state that the United States has provided voluminous discovery to the defense so far," the joint motion states. "The parties are in agreement that to make the best and most efficient use of the court's time and resources to decide any motions, it would be prudent to continue the upcoming hearing and its accompanying motions schedule for approximately three weeks."

A grand jury indicted Butina in July on charges of acting as a foreign agent and conspiracy to act as a foreign agent. She is accused of building connections with political groups like the National Rifle Association to help advance Russian interests in the United States.

Categories / Criminal, Government, National, Politics

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