WI-GOV: Scott Walker had second brief encounter with accused Russian spy, court filing says

[RandySF]

MADISON - Gov. Scott Walker had a second brief interaction with a woman now accused of being a Russian spy on the day he launched his unsuccessful presidential bid in 2015, according to a new court filing.

The GOP governor acknowledged in July that he briefly spoke with accused foreign agent Maria Butina and had his photo taken with her and a Russian official at a National Rifle Association convention in April 2015.

But the new filing says the two had a second encounter three months later, when he announced his presidential run in Waukesha.

Walker is referred to in the filing as “Political Candidate 1,” but the filing clearly describes him with references to when he made his presidential announcement.

Butina believed Walker had the best chance to win the Republican Party’s presidential nomination at that stage, according to the document filed Friday. She sent a message to a Russian official about Walker’s campaign launch two days afterward, the court document says.

“After recounting Political Candidate 1’s speech, the defendant reported that she had a ‘short personal contact’ with Political Candidate 1, with whom she had had previous personal contact, as well as one of his three advisors in matters of international politics,” the filing by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erik Kenerson says.


https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2018/09/08/scott-walker-had-second-brief-encounter-accused-russian-spy/1244899002/


TONY EVERS





https://tonyevers.com

[Pachamama]

1. Oh dear....I wonder just how much "contact" Ms. Butina has had with various GOP members

[pnwmom]

2. The other man in the photo is Alexander Torshin, who Spanish police wiretapped,

Last edited Sun Sep 9, 2018, 02:17 AM - Edit history (1)

and later turned over the wiretaps to the FBI. He has been linked with Donald Jr. and the NRA.

https://www.businessinsider.com/fbi-obtains-alexander-torshin-wiretaps-from-spanish-police-2018-5


When José Grinda, a Spanish prosecutor who spearheads investigations into organized crime, was asked if he was concerned about Torshin's interactions with Trump Jr. or other American political figures, Grinda replied: "Mr. Trump's son should be concerned."

The FBI has obtained wiretaps from Spanish authorities of conversations involving an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin who met with President Donald Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., during the 2016 US presidential election, Yahoo News reported.

Alexander Torshin is a prominent Russian banker, politician, and gun-rights activist who is closely tied to the National Rifle Association. He has long been on the Spanish government's radar for his suspected involvement in money laundering and organized crime, and media reports earlier this year indicated that the FBI was investigating whether Torshin used the NRA as a vehicle to funnel Russian money into the election to boost Trump.

José Grinda, who has led investigations by the Spanish government into organized crime in the country, said this week that the FBI had in recent months requested and received transcripts of wiretapped conversations between Torshin and Alexander Romanov, a former Russian banker with connections to the mob who has been convicted of money laundering.

SNIP

Torshin and his longtime assistant, fellow Russian gun-rights activist Maria Butina, have attracted scrutiny over their attempts to set up backdoor meetings with senior members of the Trump campaign during the election.





Here is an article about Torshin meeting with Donald Trump, Jr.

https://miami.cbslocal.com/2017/11/21/trump-jr-second-meeting-with-russian-official-investigated/


WASHINGTON (CBSMiami) – Special Counsel Robert Mueller will soon interview top-level White House officials as part of his investigation into Russian interference in the U.S. election.

Meanwhile, new details have surfaced concerning members of the Trump family who met with Russians during the campaign.

Alexander Torshin is a Kremlin insider. As a deputy head of Russia’s Central Bank, he has ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and reportedly has links to organized crime which is why his meeting with Donald Trump Jr. in May 2016, at the height of the presidential campaign, has gotten the attention of congressional investigators.

The two men were introduced during a dinner at a National Rifle Association Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. According to a CBS News source, Trump Jr. and Torshin discussed a “mutual interest in firearms.” The source did not recall if the campaign came up in conversation.

[Princess Turandot]

3. Here's the filing in question...

It was DOJ's response on 9/7 to a Motion for Bond Review filed by her attorneys:

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4841872-Memorandum-in-Opposition.html

[dalton99a]

4. Contact lasted less than two minutes