NRA Was 'Foreign Asset' To Russia Ahead of 2016, New Senate Report Reveals

[catbyte]

September 27, 201910:01 AM ET

TIM MAK

The National Rifle Association acted as a "foreign asset" for Russia in the period leading up to the 2016 election, according to a new investigation unveiled Friday by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon.

Drawing on contemporaneous emails and private interviews, an 18-month probe by the Senate Finance Committee's Democratic staff found that the NRA underwrote political access for Russian nationals Maria Butina and Alexander Torshin more than previously known — even though the two had declared their ties to the Kremlin.

The report, available here, also describes how closely the gun rights group was involved with organizing a 2015 visit by some of its leaders to Moscow.

Then-NRA vice president Pete Brownell, who would later become NRA president, was enticed to visit Russia with the promise of personal business opportunities — and the NRA covered a portion of the trip's costs.

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https://www.npr.org/2019/09/27/764879242/nra-was-foreign-asset-to-russia-ahead-of-2016-new-senate-report-reveals

[triron]

1. Sounds about right. So some Senators finally realizing that, huh?

[UTUSN]

2. K&R for, just making it official!1

[EleanorR]

3. A little more info from Wyden about the NRA helping russia ahead of the election

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1177586522880643072.html

[True Dough]

4. I wonder if Joe Biden would still say the NRA is not our enemy

as he did during the first debate? I certainly hope not!