Patrick Byrne had a relationship with Maria Butina.

Posted by Ask Dr. Drew, Oct 21, 2026Checked Nov 2, 2026

Polygraph verdictTrue

Sources: 6 support2 context
Said: 1 time·
Confidence: 95%

Ask Dr. DrewOct 21, 2026

Multiple independent tier1/tier2 sources (NYT via Reuters, CBS, Axios, The Week, Business Insider, AP) report that Patrick Byrne confirmed a romantic relationship with Maria Butina, and Butina's lawyer confirmed it too. The claim's core assertion is supported; the extraction faithfully reflects the passage's sentence, and the speaker's 'relationship' is the same referent.

A guest makes this claim. Listeners heard it, so it counts against the post, and on the guest's own record.

What was said

… So I have a very broad line. I've always had. I'm out of all this now, but I always had a very broad attitude and sort of took assignments that were outside the conventional. So there was a Russian woman named Maria Butina that I had a relationship with. In addition, I was asked to set up Hillary Clinton in a bribe, which I successfully did. So it turned out there was a faction in government, since Thanksgiving 2015, that was running. We set up the Russian collusion hoax, and we set up Hillary Clinton. …

Ask Dr. Drew · Oct 21, 2026· from the transcriptPost →

What we found

Supports. The New York Times reported Byrne confirmed a three-year relationship with Butina that occasionally turned romantic, which Overstock publicly disclosed in August 2019.[2]

Supports. Byrne and Butina's lawyer Robert Driscoll confirmed the romantic involvement to the NYT, and CBS and Axios report Byrne resigned as Overstock CEO after revealing the affair.[3][4][5]

Supports. Reuters reporting states Byrne resigned in August after confirming he had an intimate relationship with Butina.[1]

Supports. Business Insider reports Byrne admitted sending money to Butina and described their romantic relationship, with Butina quoted on it.[6]

Context. Former FBI officials and Comey denied Byrne's claim that the FBI directed the relationship, but that denial concerns the FBI-direction claim, not whether the relationship existed.[7][8]

Sources

8 sources: 1 fact-checker, 3 tier 2, 4 not rated

1Russian agent Butina released from U.S. prison, deportedreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
2Overstock C.E.O. Takes Aim at ‘Deep State' After Romance With Russian Agentnytimes.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
3Patrick Byrne, Overstock CEO, resigns today amid "deep state ...cbsnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
4Overstock CEO says he dated Russian agent Maria Butina, got ...theweek.com · not rated · cited for: supports
5Overstock CEO resigns due to romantic involvement with Russian agentaxios.com · not rated · cited for: supports
6Pro-Trump Former Overstock CEO Gave Russian Spy Ex- ...businessinsider.com · not rated · cited for: supports
7Former officials deny ex-Overstock CEO's claim FBI asked ...cnn.com · tier 2 · cited for: context
8Former FBI Officials Deny Former Overstock CEO's Claim FBI Asked Him to Pursue Maria Butinaktla.com · not rated · cited for: context

Where this claim was made

Said in 1 published post

Ask Dr. Drew · Oct 21, 2026Post →

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