The Trump-Russia-NRA Connection: Here's What You Need to Know
Did the Kremlin funnel payments to help Trumps campaign through the National Rifle Association?
Unprecedented Trump Support
The National Rifle Association spent tens of millions of dollars backing Trumps presidential bid in 2016. The NRA endorsed Trump in May 2016. And the NRA disclosed it spent at least $30 million on Trumps behalf and attacking Hillary Clinton. That level of support is unprecedented more than twice what the NRA disclosed it spent on Mitt Romneys 2012 presidential run.
The true sum the NRA spent to install Trump in the White House may be far higher. Campaign finance disclosures do not cover spending on unregulated Internet advertising or voter mobilization; citing two sources close to the gun group, McClatchy suggests the NRA may have spent upwards of $70 million on Trumps presidential bid.
President Trump is clearly indebted: You came through for me, and I am going to come through for you, Trump promised the NRA at its 2017 convention. I will never, ever let you down.
Dark Money
In the age of Citizens United and unlimited campaign donations, the NRA has emerged as an important dark money hub in Republican politics. Under its tax code designation, the NRA is a social welfare organization, largely exempt from disclosing its donors. To skirt disclosure, other big-dollar political players including a SuperPAC linked to Karl Rove and a chamber of commerce controlled by the Koch Brothers have routinely steered money into the NRA, confident that the gun groups spending will advance the GOP cause.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/the-trump-russia-nra-connection-heres-what-you-need-to-know-205458/