Washington (CNN) The alleged Russian spy Maria Butina should be released from jail and placed on house arrest, her attorneys argued in a court filing Friday that seeks to paint her as a humble student whose interactions with Americans and Russians are overblown by prosecutors who indicted her for acting illegally as a foreign agent. Specifically, Butina's defense team describes her relationship to Russian billionaire Alexander Torshin, who allegedly mentored her in attempts to infiltrate Republican politics, as "actually just a friend." Butina, 29, has been in jail -- first in Washington, now in Alexandria, Virginia -- since July 15, when she pleaded not guilty to the foreign agent charges in DC federal court. Butina's house arrest request will be discussed at a court hearing on Sept. 10, the judge said. The Siberian-born former American University graduate student allegedly built Republican Party connections through gun rights groups including the NRA and through the National Prayer Breakfast as a way to push pro-Russian interests, prosecutors charge.

Source: CNN August 24, 2018 23:03 UTC