Alleged Russian agent Maria Butina spent last Thanksgiving at the farm of Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C.
In 2017, Butina attended a barbecue at the farm, known as Coosaw Plantation, along with her boyfriend, Paul Erickson, and 300 other guests, according to the Post and Courier.
Sanford has been friends with Erickson, a Republican operative, for more than three decades, dating back to their time as classmates at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.
[Related: Russian Foreign Ministry calls for release of Maria Butina]
“We always have a big crowd at our farm for Thanksgiving, sort of a family-plus event, and so I invited him to come down,” Sanford told CNN. “He brought his girlfriend.”
Sanford described his interactions with Butina as “pleasant” and that she had told him she planned to start a National Rifle Association equivalent in Russia.
“It’s the girlfriend of a guy I’ve known for 30 years,” he said. “She seemed nice enough.”
Butina, 29, was charged this week for conspiracy against the U.S. and acting as an unregistered foreign agent of the Russian government. She has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
In court documents filed before Butina’s appearance Wednesday in Washington, D.C., federal prosecutors alleged she was connected to high-profile members of the NRA, and was in regular contact with the FSB, the Russian intelligence agency that replaced the Soviet-era KGB.
