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Maria Butina, the alleged Russian spy who cozied up to conservative figures, sought interactions with a former Trump campaign aide weeks before the 2016 election, according to The Washington Post. Emails show that Butina, who has been charged with working as an unregistered agent for the Russian government, contacted J.D. Gordon, who served as Trump’s campaign director for six months and was offered a role on the presidential transition team. The two reportedly exchanged emails in September and October 2016, with Gordon, 50, inviting her to a rock concert and his October birthday party. Gordon dismissed his interactions with Butina, calling the report a “sensationalized click bait story” to smear the Republicans and NRA members she encountered. Butina’s lawyer Robert Driscoll also dismissed her interactions as those of an eager graduate student. Both Gordon and Driscoll deny that the pair had any romantic relations, and claim that they had no contact after the October birthday party. GOP operative Paul Erickson was the person who first connected Butina and Gordon via email, suggesting that their correspondence would “be an excellent addition to any of the U.S./Russia friendship dinners[.]”