*An NRA President Met With Accused Russian Spy Maria Butina's Group in Moscow

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https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/07/nra-russia-maria-butina-alexander-torshin-republicans-trump/

An NRA President Met With Accused Russian Spy Maria Butina’s Group in Moscow

Video from the 2013 event sheds further light on NRA-Russia ties.

MARK FOLLMAN
JUL. 20, 2018 12:01 PM

In an investigation published on Thursday, Mother Jones documented the deep ties between the National Rifle Association and two Russians accused by the FBI of carrying out a malign political influence operation inside the United States: Maria Butina, a self-styled gun activist and former graduate student indicted in federal court this week, and Alexander Torshin, her alleged handler and a high-level Russian government and banking official from President Vladimir Putin’s party. The goal of the conspiracy, according to federal prosecutors, was to gain access to top Republicans, including presidential candidate Donald Trump, in order to “advance the interests of the Russian Federation.”

In pursuit of their mission, Butina and Torshin spent a lot of time cultivating access to the National Rifle Association—and NRA officials eagerly welcomed the Russians into their midst. A video recorded in Moscow in 2013, little-noticed until now, shows how a top NRA official enthusiastically cooperated with the Russians to help them build up a new Russian gun-rights group that Butina and Torshin used for their influence operation.

One NRA leader with whom the pair of Russians developed long-term connections was David Keene, an NRA board member who served as president of the organization from 2011 to 2013. In fall 2013, Keene traveled to Moscow at their invitation for a meeting of about 200 gun-rights advocates hosted by The Right to Bear Arms, the fledgling group Butina set up in 2011. In a video recorded during the event, Butina introduces Keene, who thanks her by her first name as he takes the podium. Keene then begins an eight-minute speech to the group with comments about his warm ongoing relationship with Torshin, who was sanctioned by the Treasury Department this April and has been accused of mob ties and money laundering by the Spanish government. (Torshin denies those allegations.)

“It’s a great honor for me to be here today,” Keene says, “partly because over the course of the last three years, I’ve hosted your senator, Alexander Torshin, at the annual National Rifle Association meetings.”

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1. and there is video!

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2. Kick

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3. A not an