Who is Paul Erickson, through whom the Russian woman Butina tried to break into American politics

In documents submitted to a US court by the Department of Justice in the case Russian women Maria Butinawho is accused of conspiring to work in the US as a foreign agent without proper registration, mentions “American No. 1”, with which she allegedly tried to establish an “unofficial channel of communication” between the Republicans and the Kremlin.

Photo: C-Span

According to Meduza, the American media are confident that this is Paul Erickson, with whom Butina not only collaborated, but also lived. The newspaper The Wall Street Journal found out that Erickson has an ambiguous reputation in conservative circles and was convicted several times for fraud.

The US Justice Department believes that Mary Butina used Paul Erickson as a way to establish contacts with influential people in American conservative circles. Butina and Erickson were in intimate relationships; Investigators claim that for the Russian woman it was only the “inevitable side of her activity” - there are documents at the FBI’s disposal where she speaks contemptuously of the need to live with Erickson.

56-year-old American several times appeared before the court for deceiving investors, whom he urged to invest in their companies - apparently, non-functioning. The Wall Street Journal writes that he and his company Compass Care remain owed, according to various court decisions, a total of over 860 thousand dollars. "He is a persistent and inveterate liar," says one of the deceived investors, LA lawyer Michael Barnes.

Erickson's career in the republican circles is called the publication "eclectic." In 1980, he collaborated with later convicted for fraud by lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and then worked for Pat Bukonen - right-wing politician, presidential adviser Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, who tried to run for president in 1990. In the same decade, Erickson was the representative of the American John Bobbit, to whom his wife cut off the penis, explaining this with violence on his part.

In 2012 – 2014, Paul Erickson was a member of the board of the American Conservative Union (ACU), which holds the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) every year. This event is usually attended by Republican presidents. Erickson was asked to leave ACU after a warning from conservative publicist and writer L. Brent Bothell, whom he persuaded to invest thousands of dollars in Compass Care 200.

At the end of 2016, Erickson pretended to be a member of Trump’s transition team. "I am constantly in Washington, trying to bring at least some order in the transition process of Trump - with an incomprehensible attitude and results," he wrote to his friend. The transition team, including former spokesman Sean Spicer, say they haven’t met Erickson.

The Wall Street Journal notes that some friends warmly speak about Erickson. His colleague in the election headquarters of Pat Bukonen Frank Luntz recalls that he was "stable" and "treated everyone with kindness." Erickson's main contact in the Republican world was David Keen, the former head of ACU and the National Rifle Association, through which Maria Butina decided to get to know influential Republicans. Keen did not answer the questions of the newspaper.

“Although Erickson helped Butina with access to some influential politicians, her focus on him suggests that her possible patrons in Moscow were not fully aware of his precarious position in conservative circles,” writes The Wall Street Journal.

Recall, July 16 US Department of Justice announced about the arrest of Russian Maria Butina: She is accused of trying to promote Russian interests in the United States without registering as a "foreign agent." The founder of the public organization “Right to Arms”, Butina is considered a person close to the deputy chairman of the Central Bank, former senator Alexander Torshin - judging by the American indictment, it was he who oversaw her activities in the United States.

Read also on ForumDaily:

'Spy, get out': five high-profile stories exposing Russian spies in the US

Spying Passion in America: How It Will End

She offered 'sex in exchange for a position': new charges against Russian woman Butina

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