The Daily Beast reports:
Paul Erickson, the American political operative and boyfriend of admitted Russian agent Maria Butina, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in South Dakota on charges of wire fraud and money laundering. The U.S. attorney for the district of South Dakota is handling the prosecution, which is separate from the case that was lodged against Butina in Washington, D.C. Erickson, 56, was arrested on Tuesday and entered a plea of not guilty at an arraignment, according to the court filings.
NEW: Paul Erickson, the boyfriend of admitted Russian agent Maria Butina, has been indicted for wire fraud and money laundering https://t.co/cOstubk9Np
— Betsy Woodruff (@woodruffbets) February 6, 2019
Although prosecutors repeatedly referenced someone who appeared to be Erickson as Maria Butina’s alleged co-conspirator, these charges appear on the surface to be wholly unrelated to the Butina case:https://t.co/uVKLFtezpW
— Rachel Maddow MSNBC (@maddow) February 7, 2019