U.S. judge may consider gag order in case of accused Russian agent

FILE PHOTO: Accused Russian agent Maria Butina speaks to camera at 2015 FreedomFest conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., July 11, 2015 in this still image taken from a social media video obtained July 19, 2018. FreedomFest/via REUTERS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. judge said on Wednesday she may consider imposing a gag order on lawyers for accused Russian agent Maria Butina after prosecutors complained about statements by her lead attorney to the news media and expressed concern about turning over evidence to the defence.

U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan gave the prosecution until Aug. 8 to file a proposed protection order to prevent the public disclosure of evidence in the case. During a hearing, prosecutors accused defence lawyer Robert Driscoll of misrepresenting the case in television news interviews.