Maria Butina's lawyers submitted a 28-page request to Judge Tanya Chutkan Thursday asking the court to throw out the criminal case against her.
CNN:
In grandiose language, Butina's lawyers argued that the evidence against her is so weak that if that conduct is criminal, "scores of people are unknowingly violating this statute" against acting as an agent for a foreign government without informing the Justice Department.
If Chutkan doesn't throw out the full two-count indictment, Butina's lawyers want the judge to force prosecutors to drop one of the charges. They say the prosecutors violated the Double Jeopardy Clause of the US Constitution by charging Butina with two crimes for the same conduct.
The FBI raided Butina's DC apartment in April, and authorities arrested her on July 15, 2018 on charges of "conspiracy to act as an agent of the Russian Federation within the United States without prior notification to the Attorney General."
Butina remains incarcerated in Alexandria, VA because the court considers her a flight risk.
Alleged Russian agent Maria Butina seeks dismissal of charges (CNN)