[Harlow:] Russia's ambassador to the United States is calling the case against an accused Russian agent a farce. The ambassador says he will be demanding that this woman, Maria Butina, is released from jail immediately. On Wednesday, a federal judge ruled she was a flight risk, ordered her held without bond until her trial. And our Sara Murray explains how prosecutors say she used sex, lies and guns to infiltrate American politics.
[Sara Murray, Cnn Correspondent:] The young Russian gun lover twice applied for visas to attend the National Rifle Association's
[Unidentified Male:] Thank you very much.
[Murray:] Then the NRA came to Moscow. Butina hosted a gun conference and charmed NRA board member David Keen and his associate, political operative, Paul Erickson. By April 2014, visa in hand, Butina was on her way to Indianapolis for the NRA's 2014 annual meeting. There she snapped a pic with NRA chief executive, Wayne LaPierre, and began blazing a path in U.S. political circles in what authorities allege was a covert Russian operation. Her relationship with Erickson quickly turned romantic. Whether he was duped by his young lover, who used him for political connections or wittingly lured into a spy operation to influence U.S. politics ahead of the 2016 election is unclear. An unlikely match, Erickson is nearly twice Butina's age.
[Paul Erickson, Political Operative:] If you want power, if you want influence, you see a candidate that you like, show up and work for them. Drop everything.
[Murray:] After growing up in South Dakota and graduating from Yale, he sought to make a name for himself in GOP politics. Along the way he crossed paths with now disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and worked at a the Virginia man who
[Maria Butina, Russian Spy:] My story is simple. My father is a hunter. I was born in Siberia. For such places like Siberia or forests of Russia, this is a question of survival. Everyone has a gun.
[Murray:] After graduating from a local university and dabbling in the furniture business, she set off to Moscow to pursue political ambitions. There she launched her gun rights group and linked up with prominent Russian official, Alexander Torshin, who became a staunch ally. By fall 2014, she was trading e-mails with her lover, Erickson, about how to obtain long-term visas. Her Russian handlers wanted her to have a more permanent U.S. foothold, prosecutors said. By summer of 2015, Butina was enrolled in graduate school at American University on a student visa, all part of her cover story, according to prosecutors. By then, Butina already become a fixture at exclusive NRA events, accompanied Torshin to the 2016 annual prayer breakfast and worked with Torshin and Erickson to try to establish back channel communications between candidate Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin. Erickson's involvement in the alleged Russian operation is murky. Authorities found a note in his handwriting that read, "How to respond to FSB offer of employment." But it's unclear if the Russian intelligence offer was for him, Butina or something else entirely. Recently she grew despondent, lamenting it wasn't safe for her to return to Russia. She graduated from American University in May 2018. But a friend didn't spot her at any commencement celebrations. With school behind her, she was planning a move to Sioux City with Erickson, a man, prosecutors say, she expressed disdain for living with. A day after buying moving boxes, she was arrested. Now U.S. authorities did not explicitly name Paul Erickson in the indictment surrounding Maria Butina nor has he been charged with a crime in relation to the Butina case. He did not respond to CNN's request for comment Sara Murray, CNN, Washington.
[Harlow:] All right. Sara, we'll be watching it. Thank you. Ahead, the president versus Big Pharma. Facing growing pressure from the president, three major drugmakers are lowering some of the prices of some of their drugs. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta will be here with me to explain what this really means for you at home next.