i am 21, i think at this moment. she goes, you will definitely cheat on your husband, 100% cheater. i was really taken aback. >> reporter: she says butina at the time was open about her interests in advocating for gun rights in russia and working closely in the united states with leaders of the nra. looking back, she says she didn't suspect butina was a spy. >> i wasn't surprised when i read all of the allegations, because those were what she was open about, what she was saying she was doing. i'm not sure if she's a spy. >> reporter: a former justice department counterintelligence attorney says butina's interactions with her might have been part of a plan to blend in. >> just because her activities were out in the open doesn't mean that she wasn't doing them at the behest of the russian government or russian intelligence. >> reporter: as for paul ericsson, she calls him a con man. ericsson was indicted last week on fraud charges. he duped her parents out of