A prominent Kremlin-linked Russian politician has methodically cultivated ties with leaders of the National Rifle Association, and documented efforts in real time over six years to leverage those connections and gain access deeper into American politics, NPR has learned.
Russian politician Alexander Torshin claimed his ties to the National Rifle Association provided him access to Donald Trump — and the opportunity to serve as a foreign election observer in the United States during the 2012 election.
Torshin is a prolific Twitter user, logging nearly 150,000 tweets, mostly in Russian, since his account was created in 2011. Previously obscured by language and by sheer volume of tweets, Torshin has written numerous times about his connections with the NRA, of which he's a known paid lifetime member. NPR has translated a selection of those posts that document Torshin's relationship to the group.
These revelations come amid news that the FBI is investigating whether Torshin, the deputy governor of the Bank of Russia, illegally funneled money to the National Rifle Association to assist the Trump campaign in 2016, McClatchy reported in January.
In a letter to Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a member of the Senate intelligence committee, the NRA denied any wrongdoing and suggested the FBI is investigating Torshin, not the NRA. Neither the NRA nor Torshin responded to inquiries from NPR.
Here's a question.
If the NRA helped to facilitate the Russian influence over Donald Trump, does that not make them a terrorist organization, or at the very least guilty of some form of treason?
And by the way despite what Trump said recently the NRA clearly has him in their pocket.
Chris Cox is a top NRA lobbyist by the way, and this was posted AFTER Trump ridiculed some of his fellow Republicans for being afraid of the NRA.I had a great meeting tonight with @realDonaldTrump & @VP. We all want safe schools, mental health reform and to keep guns away from dangerous people. POTUS & VPOTUS support the Second Amendment, support strong due process and don’t want gun control. #NRA #MAGA— Chris Cox (@ChrisCoxNRA) March 2, 2018
Well if the NRA is a terrorist organization, they have managed to place one of their suicide bombers into the White House.Trump before NRA meeting: “We should have comprehensive gun control.”— Ned Price (@nedprice) March 2, 2018
Trump hours after NRA meeting: “Video games. Video games are the problem. And mental health, too.” https://t.co/TqcHBGLIim
Source http://ift.tt/2CUPp0M
