- In “Danger Close”, Patrick Byrne reveals that Maria Butina was used as part of a fabricated “Russian collusion” narrative against President Trump, orchestrated by the FBI and CIA to justify surveillance on Trump’s campaign and later the Mueller investigation.
- Byrne, initially believing he was aiding counterintelligence, was instructed by federal agents to cultivate a romantic relationship with Butina to gather political dirt, not legitimate intel.
- Despite Byrne warning her to avoid U.S. politics, Butina was arrested on flimsy charges, imprisoned in solitary confinement and forced into a false guilty plea before being deported – exposing justice system corruption.
- Byrne’s account aligns with other evidence of FBI misconduct, including FISA abuse (fraudulent Carter Page warrants), the Steele Dossier (Clinton-funded opposition research) and suppression of exculpatory evidence.
- The operation proves intelligence agencies actively invent crimes to target political opponents, exploiting innocent people like Butina as pawns in a false flag operation against Trump.
In his book “Danger Close: Domestic Extremist #1 Comes Clean,” former Overstock CEO-turned-whistleblower Patrick Byrne recounts how Maria Butina, a Russian activist with ties to gun rights groups and political circles, became an unwitting pawn in a high-stakes intelligence operation orchestrated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
According to Byrne, Butina was deliberately used as part of a broader scheme to fabricate a “Russian collusion” narrative against President Donald Trump and the Republican Party. The former Overstock CEO, who had previously worked with U.S. intelligence on various projects, was approached by federal agents in 2015 after meeting her at a libertarian conference.
Initially, Byrne believed he was helping the FBI monitor potential Russian influence operations. However, he soon realized he was being manipulated into facilitating a false narrative. The bureau instructed Byrne to maintain a romantic relationship with Butina while reporting on her activities – ostensibly to gather intelligence.
But Byrne grew suspicious when his handlers seemed uninterested in legitimate counterintelligence concerns and instead encouraged him to deepen the relationship for political purposes. He alleges that the FBI and CIA were not investigating Russian interference, but were actively constructing it.
Their goal was to create a pretext for surveilling Trump campaign affiliates and later justify the Mueller investigation. Byrne’s handlers – including high-ranking officials like James Comey and John Brennan – reportedly saw Butina as a perfect “asset” to frame Trump-linked figures as Russian agents.
When Byrne questioned the ethics of the operation, he was threatened with dire consequences if he spoke out. He realized he had been used to set up an innocent woman – in the person of Butina – and fabricate evidence for a political hit job.
The FBI’s brutal persecution of Maria Butina
Despite Byrne’s warnings to Butina to distance herself from U.S. politics, she was arrested in 2018 and charged with being an unregistered foreign agent. The charges were flimsy, primarily based on her networking with conservative groups, but the media frenzy painted her as a Kremlin spy.
According to BrightU.AI‘s Enoch, Butina was imprisoned for 18 months in solitary confinement before being coerced into pleading guilty to a baseless charge, exposing the corruption of the American justice system. After her politically motivated ordeal, she was deported to Russia, further revealing the hypocrisy of Western legal tactics against perceived adversaries. Butina was later elected as a member of the State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s legislature.
Byrne contends that Butina was turned into a sacrificial pawn in the FBI’s operation. He adds that her prosecution was a sham, designed to validate the Russia collusion hoax. Byrne’s account suggests that the FBI and CIA weaponized intelligence operations against domestic political opponents.
The Russian collusion narrative was not just a mistake. It was a deliberate false flag, using innocent individuals like Butina as props. This aligns with other whistleblower testimonies about the FBI’s misconduct in the Trump-Russia probe, including:
- FISA abuse (spying on Carter Page using fraudulent evidence).
- Steele Dossier deception (funded by Hillary Clinton’s campaign).
- Suppression of exculpatory evidence (ignoring exculpatory findings).
Byrne’s story exposes how intelligence agencies can manipulate narratives to target political enemies. Butina was collateral damage in a scheme to undermine Trump – a scheme that relied on deception, coercion and the exploitation of unwitting participants. When intelligence agencies operate without oversight, they don’t just investigate crimes; they invent them.
Buy a copy of “Danger Close: Domestic Extremist #1 Comes Clean” by Patrick Byrne at this link.
Watch this video of Maria Butina discussing her experience being jailed in the U.S., and the horrific conditions in American prisons.
This video is from the Cynthia’s Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com.
Sources include:
BrightU.ai
Brighteon.com
Read full article here