Since her deportation to Russia, the Russian honeypot who was jailed for interfering with U.S. politics has become a member of parliament and something of a media star.
Butina’s ex-boyfriend and accomplice, Republican operative Paul Erickson, has not fared so well. He was sentenced for unrelated money laundering and fraud crimes going back 20 years. He was pardoned by Donald Trump after only two and a half years into his sentence. Because nothing says the Russia investigation was a hoax like pardoning someone who quacked just like a Russian asset!
Now, Butina says she was surprised and heartbroken to discover that, after giving Erickson access to her credit card and money from her Russian bank account, he took money that was supposed to be for her. The Daily Beast has more:
“It still hurts,” Butina told Infamous [podcast] host Paul Glader. “You love a person, you’re about to get married to a person who knows your parents and is so nice [and he] turns out to be a monster.”
…
“He actually used my card because all his credit cards were blocked because of his FBI case. So, they blocked everything,” she said. “I am his girlfriend. I am in jail. I’m in solitary confinement facing 15 years. And with no questions asked. He didn’t ask me, my parents, he just takes this money,” she went on.
The Daily Beast has not been able to independently verify the claims made by Butina, who said she only found out about the alleged spending splurge after asking Erickson for bank documents that she needed for the legal case. She claimed he failed to deliver the documents despite being repeatedly asked to.
Who could have guessed a guy with a 20-year record of fraud would do such a thing? I noticed she all but admitted giving Erickson access to her credit card and bank account. By wild coincidence, I'm sure, it’s probably beneficial for her Russian career to disavow a romance with an American now that she's claiming Ukraine is bombing itself and that Ukraine's Jewish president is a Nazi.
Interestingly, Erickson defended Butina on a previous episode of the podcast and echoed official Russian statements about her supposed innocence.
It’s not clear if that stance will help him going forward.
