2018 was a long year for the American intelligence community. From investigations into finances, communications, and meetings to hacking attacks and disinformation campaigns, the FBI and CIA have been ankle-deep in conspiracies and controversies often enough that what would have been considered a controversy or international incident has become an average day. Such was the case when Maria Butina, a Russian national that was suspiciously close with American politicians and lobbyists, agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy against the United States.

The 30-year-old woman from Siberia was first placed under the magnifying-glass as far back as July, after finances coming out of Russia and into the NRA were discovered by federal investigators tracing the extent of a massive political influence campaign that included buying lobbyists, deploying false social media accounts, and hacking delicate information and political institutions, including but not limited to the Democratic National Committee and 39 state voting commissions. Her infiltration touched on a handful of national figures, including NRA executives and US Representative Mark Sanford of South Carolina, as well as Senators and Governors.

Prosecutors allege that Butina had been coordinating her efforts with Russian intelligence chief Alexander Torshin to establish a “back channel” communication method to reach Republican politicians, using the NRA as a conduit for these communications.

However, prosecutors believe she was not alone in her efforts. Two Americans, one identified as Paul Erikson, are accused of aiding her. Erikson had worked on the campaign of Mitt Romney and emailed Trump campaign officials that “Putin is deadly serious about building a good relationship with Mr. Trump.” The second American to aid Butina’s infiltration effort, however, has not yet been disclosed.