Two things stand out in this week’s plea deal of Maria Butina, the Russian citizen branded by US media as an “accused spy.” The description of her offense by federal prosecutors doesn’t mention any link to Russian intelligence services and the plea agreement says she’s willing to cooperate with the US authorities despite knowing she’ll almost certainly be deported to Russia. These peculiarities make Butina’s a strange case. The 30-year-old gun-rights activist and former graduate student at...
