Senate to Send Butina Transcript to Justice Department

(CN) - The Senate has quietly agreed to send a transcript of a private interview of accused Russian operative Mariia Butina by the Senate Intelligence Committee to the Department of Justice and her lawyer.

The Senate adopted a resolution authorizing the limited release of the the document on Wednesday.

In a joint statement, Intel Committee chairman Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., and the panel's vice chairman, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said "In response to requests from the Department of Justice and counsel for Mariia Butina, we have sought authorization from the Senate to release to both parties the transcript of Ms. Butina’s testimony before the committee."

"The committee intends to provide the transcript, provided both parties agree to include it under the auspices of a protective order, which we understand is currently under discussion," they said.

No timeline was announced for the transcript's release.

Butina has been in U.S. custody since her arrest on July 15.  She’s accused of trying to establish a back channel to American politicians and attempting to infiltrate the National Rifle Association on behalf of the Russian government.

Robert Driscoll, Butina’s attorney, has denied she was a Russian agent.

The Senate measure passed unanimously as the chamber prepared to go into a recess of nearly two weeks.

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