Quote:Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected the idea she was a spy. He said last April, "it's not clear what she was convicted of or what crime she committed."

Quote:"It's not clear what she was convicted of or what crime she committed," Putin said. "I think it's a prime example of 'saving face.' They arrested her and put the girl in jail. But there was nothing on her, so in order not to look totally stupid they gave her, fixed her up, with an 18-month sentence to show that she was guilty of something."

Journalist Martin Summers told RT News that Butina was "collateral damage" in the escalating anti-Russian hysteria campaign by American media. 

Quote:"Because they've got her caught up in this, they've got to think of something she's supposedly done. And she hasn't done anything that could be classed as spying. We've now got to a ridiculous situation when any Russian person who comments on Western politics is accused of being some sort of agent for their own security services," Summers said.

Quote:Federal prosecutors have said Butina did not engage in “traditional” spy craft, but worked behind the scenes to make inroads in conservative political circles and promote friendlier U.S.-Russian relations.