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       Russian agent Maria Butina sentenced to 18 months with credit for time served Butina pleaded guilty to acting as an unregistered agent for the Kremlin; chief intelligence correspondent Catherine Herridge reports from the U.S. district court in Washington.

       A Russian agent deported to Moscow after serving jail time in the United States has accepted a state job defending Russians imprisoned abroad, according to media reports.

       Russian human rights commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova recently offered the agent, Maria Butina, the job during her first public appearance since being deported last month.

       “She accepted the proposal,” the TASS news agency quoted Moskalkova as saying on Friday.

       MARIA BUTINA ARRIVES IN MOSCOW AFTER FLORIDA PRISON RELEASE, DEPORTATION

       Russian national Maria Butina attends a meeting on human rights at the State Duma in Moscow on Friday. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

       She did not say when Butina would start. The 31-year-old was released from a Florida prison in October after serving nearly 18 months over a charge of acting as an agent for a foreign government.

       Federal prosecutors said Butina used contacts within the National Rifle Association and the National Prayer Breakfast to get close to politicians and get information to benefit Russia.

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       The case has strained American-Russian relations; Moscow slammed Butina's conviction and allegations that it meddled in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.