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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 deeper access into American politics, NPR has learned.
Russian politician Alexander Torshin said his ties to the NRA 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 sheer volume of tweets, Torshin has written numerous times about his connections with the NRA, of which he is 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 NRA 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.
Sorry, but until something actually bad is revealed, this is a whole bunch of so what. Mueller may reveal something, but this breathless pearl clutching is not at all useful.
It would be very disturbing if it was true. It will be interesting to see the money trail. I hope for the sake of our country that the truth comes out, one way or another.
It would be very disturbing if it was true. It will be interesting to see the money trail. I hope for the sake of our country that the truth comes out, one way or another.
It has long ago. Yelling "Russia" is not a valid replacement for not having ideas and candidates.
Mueller's already on the money trail, and if his normal level of professionalism is reached, when he gets through he will know where the Russian stole the ball point pen he used to write the check, and what color socks he was wearing. If any of the story is true, Wayne and the Boys probably aren't feeling any better than Donnie about now.
Mueller's already on the money trail, and if his normal level of professionalism is reached, when he gets through he will know where the Russian stole the ball point pen he used to write the check, and what color socks he was wearing. If any of the story is true, Wayne and the Boys probably aren't feeling any better than Donnie about now.
Like the "Russian Troll" that was exposed that wrote about her daily walks and how fascinated she was with our traffic lights?
I want an alternative to vote for. "Russia" is not it.
This reminds me of the Red Scare. Though, I suspect that there were more legit Commies that McCarthy was after than "Russian colluders" that this KGB-style investigating by the Fascist Bureau of Inquisition and Communists In Action (FBI and CIA) and the failure of the Department of Just Us.
Russian involvement with the NRA would not surprise me at all, one thing they do make is some really fine guns. Currently some are under an import ban unrelated to the guns themselves. Kalashnikov just started making some of them in Florida. It would be no different that say Toyota supporting using a lobbying firm here in the US to their benefit.
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