Even if she wasn’t about the sexy times, Maria Butina was certainly a busy spy…. but she’s willing to throw Paul Erickson under the bus even if he was a terrible lover.
In the court filing, prosecutors argue that Butina has “no meaningful ties to the United States and has every reason to flee.” The defense had pointed to Butina’s long-term relationship with Erickson as proof that she’s anchored in America. But prosecutors, pointing to Butina’s offer to incriminate Erikson, insist that their relationship is “insufficiently strong… to prevent her from fleeing the jurisdiction if released.” Citing Erickson’s complicity in Butina and Torshin’s scheme to infiltrate high levels of the NRA and GOP, the feds further insist he should not be trusted: “U.S. Person 1 is not a tie to the United States on which the Court should rely to ensure the defendant’s return to court or compliance with conditions of release.”
The court filing introduces new evidence that Butina infiltrated the NRA in order to gain access to high-ranking GOP figures. It reproduces a Twitter direct message, sent to Torshin, in which Butina describes her plan to use the NRA’s 2016 annual convention as a forum to influence a presidential candidate’s views on Russia. The document redacts the candidate’s name, but it appears to be Donald Trump.
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.