Paul Erickson, boyfriend of alleged Russian spy Maria Butina, indicted on fraud charges. New York Daily News Jul 18, 2018 at 2:25 pm A Russian gun rights activist has been busted for allegedly acting as an unregistered Russian agent in the U.S. For Driscoll, this is all evidence that Butina and Erickson, despite the governments claims to the contrary, are engaged in a mutual and genuine cross-cultural romance. [1] He has strong ties to the National Rifle Association and Russian interests and in 2017 was subject to federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. [7] He was a friend of Andrew Breitbart. (A decade later, he would have a Wikipedia page.) Butina's defense attorney says relationship is a "legitimate" one. He supported her financially, telling McClatchy DC he established a South Dakota-based company Bridges LLC with Butina in order to help defray her educational expenses, and according to court filings, assisted with her coursework by editing papers and answering exam questions., Meanwhile, prosecutors claim, Butina appear[ed] to treat [her relationship with Erickson] as simply a necessary aspect of her activities. She privately expressed disdain for continuing to live with him, prosecutors claim, and even offered another individual sex in exchange for a position within a special interest organization.. Sometimes I wonder whether my appeal for Paul was more than just that I was an easy mark, honest and vulnerable. He got off pretty easy, and he did this time too., Erickson was among six people from South Dakota who received pardons from Trump. From there, our years were marked by events he planned just to brighten our lives, like that dinner: Impromptu trips to high school basketball games, where he cheered on my daughter, even when she was benched; tickets to Bruce Springsteen's Broadway show, and a play for my daughters 16th birthday, with a pickup by stretch limo. Maria Butina poses for a photo at a shooting range in Moscow, Russia, 2012. . Until about a month ago, Erickson was still visiting Butina as often as twice a week, as well as speaking with her on the phone, according to a source familiar with the matter. My husband and I invested in his scam, which I later learned from the FBI agent was a legitimate patentjust not one belonging to Paul. Paul Erickson is facing charges including wire fraud and money laundering. With our friendship, I convinced myself that pure fun could be a bridge over political differences. Maria Butina, right, attends a meeting of a group of experts, affiliated to the Russian government, in this undated handout photo obtained by Reuters on July 17, 2018. In 1995, Erickson and his NRA buddy Keene worked as foreign agents in collaboration with Abramoff, lobbying to help Mobutu gain entry into the United States. Paul Erickson, a South Dakota-born booster of the GOP and the National Rifle Association, was a key part of the outreach to Trump's campaign and other conservative political organizations by Maria Butina, who has pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as a clandestine foreign agent. Read This, Gayle and Adam Got Colonoscopies Together, The Best Gifts for Teenage Boys Theyll Love, The Best Oprah-Approved Gifts for Mother's Day. She responded: Good teachers!. Back then, I was too busy noticing the most important thing: He made me laugh. It was then that I realized that my intention was to tell my storyin order to heal myself, yes, but also to warn others to protect themselves. [4], Frustrated by the tax increase led by President George H. W. Bush, Erickson served as the national political director / campaign manager for the 1992 presidential campaign of Pat Buchanan. Shes facing 15 years in prison. My husband was out of work. Butinas future and the future of her relationship with Erickson are, to say the least, uncertain. He had come on the trip somewhat by chance, accompanying the former NRA president David Keene, a longtime friend and political collaborator almost 20 years earlier, they had worked together lobbying on behalf of Mobutu Sese Seko, the leader of what was then Zaire. Who is Maria Butina? He seemed to care more about who I was, beyond the identities Id carried with me in all of my introductions: A mother of two, a teacher, a wife of two decades. I thought of this image when I attended one of Oprah's 20/20 Vision Tour stops with my daughter in January of 2020. When thats in your eyes, its all you can see. After decades of inspiring her students to write, Lisa finally embarked on her own writing journey. All the while she was making appearances with Erickson on the DC party circuit, and expanding contacts with like-minded conservatives, including some quarterly NRA confabs, according to sources, and using her connections in the gun world to bridge cultural divides. Torshin and Butina were both lifetime NRA members who for several years attended NRA conventions, as well as hosting events for wealthy, gun-loving NRA honchos willing to venture abroad. The agent told me he had been dealing with con men for most of his long career, and that Paul was one of the best. The target letter sent to Erickson is from federal prosecutors in Washington, sources familiar with the case told ABC News, and separate from any South Dakota-based federal fraud investigation into his business dealings. The report is just replete with victims, Schreier said. Ericksons February indictment involving the alleged swindling of various Dakota investors had been cast by prosecutors as unrelated to the Butina foreign agent case. Butina met Erickson in Moscow in 2013, Driscoll told ABC News. Erickson introduced the young woman enthusiastically as a leader of a pro-gun-rights movement in Russia, Waller recently recalled in an interview with the Guardian, boasting of her ties to some very wealthy Russians. He responded in an email: No one EVER gives me birthday presents anymoreEXCEPT YOU!!!. Abramoff later wrote, "To every college Republican who contacted the national office, Paul Erickson was by far the most impressive person they had ever encountered in politics. A White House statement early Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, said that Ericksons conviction was based off the Russian collusion hoax, (Abigail Dollins/The Argus Leader via AP, File). When I first met .css-9cezh6{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#E61957;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-9cezh6:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}Paul Erickson in 2009, I had no idea I would one day learn he was a Republican operative with an (alleged) Russian spy girlfriend, or that in 2020, he would be sentenced to seven years in prison for defrauding investors. That was my first mistake. The house smelled of glue sticks. Elenaculture editor for this website, OprahMag.comwas covering the event in Atlanta, and she brought me along as her guest. [7], Stephen Moore, founder of the right-leaning limited-government group Club for Growth often relies on what he calls Erickson's clever and creative ideas.[8] However, Lee Schoenbeck, a former Republican Watertown Representative to the South Dakota House of Representatives, has called him "the single biggest phony Ive ever met in South Dakota politics. Was Maria Butinas involvement with an eccentric political operative true love or, as prosecutors allege, a facade to help the Kremlin infiltrate Americas conservative elite? I did. And perhaps, decades later, can also help explain what made him appealing to Butina: here was a man who, given the right incentives, would do just about anything. Driscoll described Butina as a promising graduate student whose career has been derailed by this case, but prosecutors claim that was just a cover while she continued to work on behalf the Russian Official, which based on the description appears to be Alexander Torshin, deputy governor of the Russian Central Bank and a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Paul andMaria at Harry Potter World in Orlandoin 2015. An easy mark. During the two years she spent at Americans global security program, Butina studied cybersecurity, of all fields, and lived among the neat brick apartments in McLean Gardens in north-west DC. I'm one of them. Butina was arrested last July, the same month that Robert Mueller indicted a dozen other alleged Kremlin-linked intelligence agents in Russia for hacking Democratic computers in 2016. For Loretta Waltner, a Sioux Falls woman who once rented office space to Erickson, the pardon was an unsurprising development in Ericksons saga. Erickson came up at a time when conservative brands like Karl Rove and Jack Abramoff were ascendant, part of what Mother Jones called a platoon of baby-faced Reagan enthusiasts. As a teacher for decades, Id gotten used to being on the other side of the classroom; whispering with a new friend during a lecture was a thrill. When the news broke, a classmate and I connected over our shared relationship with Paul. Maria, just a few years older than my daughters, would eventually tell me I was like a second mother to her. There is never a conversation, a meal or an adventure with you that doesn't leave me a better man, he emailed me one Christmas. Did she ever really love him? Meeting the prospective in-laws. In February 2016, Butina and Erickson incorporated the company, Bridges LLC, together in South Dakota, though the nature of its business activities were unclear. When they returned, Sargent made the case for a lighter sentence, pointing to all the letters of support that had been sent to Schreier on Ericksons behalf. Even if special counsel Robert Mueller found no collusion between Trump and Russia, here at least is one small example of collusion of the most intimate sort. This isnt to say I didnt know better. In 1980, while at USD, Erickson coordinated a youth campaign for Representative Jim Abdnor. Erickson explained in a 2017 interview that Keene had been hobbled by a bad knee and welcomed extra help abroad. The emerging profile of Paul Allen Erickson, Butina's alleged one-time boyfriend, comes from CNN interviews with a neighbor, a former friend, political acquaintances and his one-time lawyer. When Ericksons mother died last year, Driscoll said, Butina attended the funeral. He has supported Maria Butina, a former assistant to Aleksandr Torshin and the founder of a Russian gun rights group called "The Right to Bear Arms". Of all the governments accusations, Driscoll says that claim angered and upset Butina the most. Now, I know I didnt need him to accomplish it. But then, perhaps its still noteworthy that several checks appearing in the indictment were made out to a recipient identified only by their initials: MB., After Mueller, the need for oversight of Trump is as urgent as ever | John Mulholland, Russia on Mueller report: 'It has proved what we already knew', Enough Russia: after Mueller, it's time for Democrats to focus on America | Cas Mudde, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. He was sentenced to seven years in federal prison in July 2020, but was granted a full pardon on January 19, 2021, Donald Trump's last full day in office as president of the United States. Schreier said she was surprised, given the number of victims and amount of money he had cheated, that the pre-sentence report in the case suggested a sentencing range of only 33 to 41 months. In the weeks ahead of the 2016 presidential election, Butina tried to keep a low profile. In the end, Paul did give me what I needed. PIERRE, S.D. Ultimately, Sargent said, Erickson was a victim of hubris and over confidence, which led him to create business plans that failed. Carol McKinley contributed to this report. More:From the archives: Who is Paul Erickson? If she gets out, theyll cross that bridge when they get to it, Driscoll said. By February of the following year, Paul was indicted on charges unrelated to Marias headline-making case. If convicted, Erickson faces up to 20 years in federal prison for each count. Who is Maria Butina? Recently, Paul's time cavorting with the conservative and Christian elite brought him to a three-year stint on the board of the American Conservative Union. A conservative operative who tried to link alleged Russian spy Maria Butina -- who was also his girlfriend -- to Donald Trump's 2016 campaign is speaking out following his release from prison.Paul . Even then he had mastered the art of failing up: after the Daschle debacle, he successfully transferred to Yale, going on to graduate from there and with a law school degree from the University of Virginia in 1988. He was especially generous that weekend, covering the tab when a large group of classmates gathered for pizza and beer at one of our favorite New Haven joints the first night of the reunion. [5] Erickson and some fellow College Republicans performed Fritzbusters at the 1984 Republican National Convention and later as a warm-up act for Ronald Reagan at some rallies during the 1984 United States presidential election. Even after giving friends phony financial statements, even while siphoning off his friends money to fund his adventures. Erickson, a former conservative operative once romantically linked to Russian agent Maria Butina who was convicted in investment schemes, has been pardoned by President Donald Trump as part of a flurry of clemency action in the final hours of his White House term. Though Bush was able to beat Buchanan to win the Republican nomination, he lost his re-election bid to Bill Clinton. There, she seemed to have found her calling as a gun rights advocate, helping to create The Right To Bear Arms in 2011, with early recruiting efforts centered on women and self-defense. Money problems. And for a long, long time, I believed that he was one of my best friends. Indeed, it was her longtime mentor and alleged handler Torshin, ABC News has learned, who wrote some of her recommendations for graduate school. But Butinas attorney, Robert Driscoll, says that even in the face of those allegations, the couple, as far as he can tell, remains strong. In fact, Driscoll says, Butina told him Erickson even visited her in jail on Saturday. A picture of Paul Erickson and me at our 25th Yale Reunion in 2009. He didnt run away out of shame. Other people, when they looked at Paul, saw what he really was: A tall man sporting garish, lumpy polos and a Ronald McDonald haircut. This courtroom sketch depicts Maria Butina listening to Assistant U.S. Attorney Erik Kenerson as he speaks to Judge Deborah Robinson, left, during a hearing in federal court in Washington, July 18, 2018. RT @highbrow_nobrow: The worst people: "Paul Erickson was not charged with any wrongdoing involving his efforts to help Maria Butina, a convicted Russian spy, make inroads with political contacts. But in the past month, since Erickson has begun to face his own indictments, their contacts have slowed to a trickle. The indictment unsealed this week didn't appear directly . But Butina will be in no mood for plot twists when she appears in court on Thursday for what she hopes will be the last hearing in a saga that has had her sitting in solitary confinement since her arrest in Washington last summer, and on FBI watchlists for years. Cracked but stronger. Butinas fledgling group considered the NRA to be a role model. "[4] Casey Phillips, a South Dakota Republican political consultant, has said of Erickson, "He likes to put people in touch with people. But it was still Nick who raised the first red flag. He steals money, he steals peoples names and he just keeps stealing from people.. Butina, who portrayed herself as a gun rights activist, was deported last fall after serving time for failing to register as a foreign agent. "RT @WendySiegelman: NEW: How a crypto case with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff links to Maria Butina, Paul Erickson and a US-Ukraine busi" 2023 Oprah Daily LLC. After graduating from law school, Erickson spent the 1980s and 90s trying on political jobs like so many ill-fitting sweatshirts. [23] Meanwhile Erickson was under investigation by federal law enforcement agencies for the same offense. Watch me.". Cheeks flushed, feeling full and thankful, we let him pay. Butinas efforts werent always fruitful: an attempt to interview a DC civil rights group about its cyber vulnerabilities for a school project while she was a student at American, for instance, fell flat. . At least I do. Person 1, which sources have identified as Erickson, worked with Butina to arrange introductions to U.S. persons having influence in American politics, including high-ranking members of the NRA and organizers of the National Prayer Breakfast, that would ultimately give her a surprising level of access to conservative politicians, including in one memorable interaction captured on video to a future president. All rights reserved. And it was one that certainly raised the eyebrow of Russia security expert J Michael Waller when, at a DC party in the winter of 2015-16, his old acquaintance, Erickson, made an entrance with Butina on his arm. And during an FBI raid of Ericksons South Dakota home, investigators discovered a handwritten note suggesting Erickson may have been aware of a possible job offer from Russian intelligence services: How to respond to FSB offer of employment? Erickson scratched, an apparent reference to the Russian equivalent of the CIA. [22] Butina pleaded guilty in December 2018, saying that she had engaged in a conspiracy against the United States with Erickson and Torshin. Paul Erickson, Boyfriend Of Russian Agent Maria Butina, Charged In Fraud Scheme Erickson, who is more than 20 years Butina's senior, is facing federal investment fraud charges in a. But after Trump was elected, she couldnt contain her exuberance, attending an inaugural ball and even sending a selfie to Torshin from her perch by the US Capitol on the day Trump was inaugurated. Erickson had traveled there with then-NRA President David Keene to meet with Butina, the young leader of a nascent Russian gun-rights group called The Right to Bear Arms., Their romantic relationship began shortly thereafter on New Years Eve in Tel Aviv. Her strong pro-Russia views drew notice at school. Butina, a 29-year-old flame-haired Russian who once posed with guns in Russian GQ magazine, pleaded. At some point between the reunions, and the outings, and the vacations, a whole bunch of us had gathered at the Yale Club to celebrate our 50th birthdays in 2012. He had been active in politics since his teens, and was already getting into trouble for it as an underclassman at the University of South Dakota. [4] The campaign stopped running Fritzbusters after more than 100 students wearing Fritzbusters shirts heckled Mondale in September 1984. In 2004, Erickson, who split time between Sioux Falls and Washington, D.C., organized a public bid to defeat Sen. Tom Daschle, then the Democratic leader in the Senate. Rosalind S. Helderman. [16], Erickson has strong ties to both the National Rifle Association and the Russian gun rights community. In two such cases, lawsuits by investors in Compass Care alleged that Erickson had predicted investment returns of 25100% but that neither investor received any returns and that Erickson had reneged on his promises to refund the original investments. [4], In addition to his political work while in college, Erickson worked in 1985 as the deputy campaign manager for Richard Vigueries unsuccessful campaign for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. [10][4], In 1997, Erickson founded Compass Care, a senior living company based in South Dakota dedicated to developing non-nursing home care options for seniors in the Midwest. Before I handed over the letters Paul wrote me to the FBI, I read them again and forgave myself a little. The orchids continuing blossoms gave me the little miracles I needed to make it to tomorrow; my husband and daughters and friends love gave me the support to stay upright when I got there. More than half the worlds population sees AP journalism every day. Before the night ended, Mr. Talese pulled me aside to tell me that Paul was not a nice manand that I should be careful. He expressed support for pro-western insurgencies in Afghanistan, Angola and Nicaragua, delivering aid to freedom fighters, a popular conservative cause during the Reagan years. Gun advocacy efforts werent the only thing the two were collaborating on. [21] In July 2018 Butina was arrested by the FBI and charged with conspiring to act as an unregistered agent of the Russian Federation. Shes excited to work with her daughter, Elena Nicolaou, the Culture Editor of OprahMag.com, to tell hers. Maybe Im a sucker for romance.. It is unclear what Butinas cooperation might entail, but federal prosecutors have reportedly notified Erickson that he is a target of an ongoing investigation. I can overlook a lot of flaws if a person can make me laugh. [8] Erickson and his companies have amassed at least seven civil court judgments against them over the years. She played reporter at a Trump press conference early in Nevada in 2015, asking the newly declared presidential candidate if hed enforce damaging sanctions against her home country. Documents in Ericksons recent fraud indictment shows he cut a check for more than $20,000 to American University in 2017, while Butina was a student there. Clapper argued that Erickson had increasingly evolved over the decades, from establishing the appearance of legitimate businesses to just coming up with schemes that allowed him to cheat people who trusted him. Erickson said that met Butina when he and. The government has alleged that an unnamed U.S. We have been laughing about it the Russians must be thinking, We spent all this money and all we got is this bloviating clown with a fake rsum?. Schreier did give credit to Erickson for pleading guilty and taking responsibility for his crimes before handing down the 84 months sentence. Paul Erickson, Maria Butina's boyfriend, has reacted to her recent cooperation agreement with prosecutors. The departing Donald Trump reaches out to pardon Maria Butina's old boyfriend, South Dakota man of international intrigue Paul Erickson: Paul Erickson - President Trump has issued a full pardon to Paul Erikson. Waking my daughters up, getting them to school, then myself to school to teach. Maria Butina, a Russian gun-rights activist, and Paul Erickson, a conservative political operative are pictured together in an undated handout photo. Erickson has not been accused of any wrongdoing and it remains unclear if he could face any charges in connection to Butinas alleged conspiracy. Trump also pardoned Jessica Frease, of Rapid City, who was convicted of converting stolen checks at the bank where she worked as a teller and John Nystrom, of Pierre, who was working as a contractor on a school reconstruction project when a subcontractor received double payments for work performed. To commemorate our Florida getaway, I sent him a blanket with a blown-up photo; all six of us, petting dolphins and smiling. And then there was the courting of political candidates. The Bureau of Prisons did not say when he would be released. Our friend, the spy. While unusual, Sargent said that Erickson had recently undergone a heart valve replacement, putting him at greater risk if he contracts coronavirus. And now a federal investigation. I spoke to the FBI agent in South Dakota, where Paul grew up and later cultivated his cons, for over an hour. A spokesperson for the National Rifle Association, where Erickson had deep ties to high-ranking officials, did not respond to a request for comment. One investor won a judgment for $115,417 in 2003 while another obtained a judgment for $190,000 in 2008. And so it was that Butina met Erickson in 2013. "Russian spy" Maria Butina, who joined the ranks of the Russian parliament last month, had an untraditional rise. We were all shocked by his generosity. [9] Mobutu sought a visit to the United Nations to claim credit for this offer, but his visa request was ultimately denied due to his past human rights abuses. The woman he fell for was raised in the rugged mountain region of southern Siberia known as Altai, where just about everyone. "[4], Erickson worked as an executive producer of Red Scorpion (1988), an anticommunist action film produced by Jack Abramoff. Youre a daredevil girl! The charges stem from an assisted living-related business scheme, with activities stretching from 1996 to August of 2018, and include the notable claim that Erickson scammed investors regarding fallacious development of a wheelchair to help people access a toilet with greater ease. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. Jeff Clapper, an assistant U.S. attorney prosecuting the case, resisted the motion, saying the Bureau of Prisons could take appropriate action to screen and protect inmates. By the time he met Butina in Moscow in 2013, Erickson had lived what might seem like many different peoples lives, or one mans extremely screwball one, with accomplishments ranging from high profile to bizarre, but skewing toward the latter. I thought of the poet Lucille Clifton and her words, Come celebrate with me that everyday something has tried to kill me and has failed. I thought of Oprah, and one of her mantras: I can. But I had been swallowed up by the demands. Money problems. I realize that Paul had sized me up quickly: I was a middle aged woman in need of some attention. Meeting the prospective in-laws. Butina has owned her romantic involvement with Erickson, but the nature of their romantic connection remains a topic of dispute. She voiced outspoken approval of the Russian invasion of eastern Ukraine and Crimea in 2014, bragged about aiding in Trump-Russia communications, and flaunted her cellphone case featuring a shirtless Putin on a horse. By May 2019, I was almost ready to return to Yale for my 35th reunion, but still wobbly, to use a term from a former roommate. In 1992, he helped Pat Buchanan mount an insurgent challenge to President George Bush. "[4], Also while in college, Erickson wrote "Fritzbusters", a comedy routine that was critical of Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale which had similarities to the then newly released film Ghostbusters (1984). Paul had always encouraged my desire to be a writer, and he gave me a story that I had to tell. (AP) President Donald Trump renewed his grievance over the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election by pardoning Paul Erickson, a former conservative operative once romantically linked to Russian agent Maria Butina. As much as the loss of the money, what hurt was the idea that all of thatall the memories we sharedweren't real. I dont think youd need the sanctions. A pre-sentence report recommended a range of 33 to 41 months, but federal Judge Karen Schreier went above that, saying that Erickson had targeted friends and family. The oversized tent, filled with accomplished classmates, brought me back to my younger selfthe public school-educated girl from New Jersey with roots in Puerto Rico and the shtetl, instead of the Mayflower. The schemes bilked $5.3 million from 78 people and originated long before Erickson met Butina, according to court documents. The Vermillion native traveled the world to historic events, including to the Berlin Wall when it was torn down and to Nicaragua, where he met anti-communist fighters there. I finally got the gift I most desired: The story that I had to write, the story that made me a writer. And when asked about Butina, Putin denied any knowledge of her existence. It was an impressive meeting, Erickson said. Erickson received a seven-year prison sentence in July after pleading guilty to charges related to the North Dakota home-building scheme. That same month Butina celebrated her birthday to great excess, hosting a Stars and Tsars-themed costume party in Cleveland Parks Cafe Deluxe, where she was Empress Alexandra to Ericksons Rasputin, as the Daily Beast would report.
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