Russian spy Maria Butina pleaded guilty to conspiring to secretly work as a Russian agent within the United States. As part of her plea, Butina and federal prosecutors agreed on the facts that proved her guilt, and they are shocking.
Butina admitted that she - along with her former paramour and partner - longtime Republican operative Paul Erickson - drafted a proposal in Russian called "Description of the Diplomacy Project" that suggested Russia could use "unofficial channels of communication" to build relations with the Republican Party.
In the proposal, Butina claimed that she had been introduced to Republican Party leaders as "an unofficial representative" of Russian official Alexander Torshin, who sat at a dinner table with . Donald Trump Jr. at the 2016 NRA convention. Butina also famously met now-President Donald Trump at the 2015 NRA Convention.
Now that Butina will testify against him, Erickson faces what appears to be overwhelming evidence of his guilt. Indeed, Erickson received a target letter. That means that federal prosecutors intend to indict him.
What did Erickson tell GOP leaders, NRA leaders, GOP operatives and others when he was connecting them with a Russian spy? Those conversations will be of very great interest to federal prosecutors because they might reveal others who also acted as Russian agents.
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