Documents Reveal Maria Butina Has Offered to Betray Her Lover (a GOP Operative)

September 10, 2018 4:24PM ET
Documents Reveal Maria Butina Has Offered to Betray Her Lover (a GOP Operative)
In a new court filing, prosecutors say alleged Russian agent Maria Butina is willing to divulge new information on Paul Erickson’s “illegal activities”
By Tim Dickinson


Their love story may have bridged the divide between the plains of South Dakota and the wilds of Siberia, but the five-year romance between GOP consultant Paul Erickson and alleged Russian agent Maria Butina may be headed for a crack-up – leaving Erickson in legal jeopardy.

In a federal court filing, prosecutors allege that Butina has offered to flip on Erickson — who is also identified as “Person 1” in case documents. “Although the defense contends that the defendant is in a committed relationship with Person 1,” the feds write, “she recently offered to provide information to the government about his illegal activities.”

Erickson did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment on allegations of wrongdoing. But elsewhere in the filing, prosecutors underscore that “there is an ongoing fraud investigation examining the activities of U.S. Person 1.” The federal document also states plainly: “U.S. Person 1 has aided the defendant’s charged criminal activity for years.” It elaborates that Erickson played an “integral role in the defendant’s efforts to establish an informal line of communication between the Kremlin and the incoming Presidential Administration, knowing that she was acting at the direction of the Russian Official.”

The official is identified in other court documents as the Russian Central Banker Alexander Torshin. For a deep dive on the illicit nexus between Russia, the NRA and the Trump campaign, read Rolling Stone’s original expose here.

The court filing is the federal response to Butina’s plea to be set free from jail on supervised release. A judge ruled in a hearing Monday afternoon that Butina should continue to be held without bail. The judge also placed a gag on the lawyers in the case — a blow to Butina, whose defense attorney’s ongoing media campaign had, according to prosecutors, created a “materially prejudicial effect on this case.”

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https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/maria-butina-flip-722203/