FBI investigating whether Russian money went to NRA to help Trump

[babylonsister]

FBI investigating whether Russian money went to NRA to help Trump

By Peter Stone And Greg Gordon

[e-mail]

January 18, 2018 05:00 AM

Updated 1 hour 17 minutes ago
WASHINGTON


The FBI is investigating whether a top Russian banker with ties to the Kremlin illegally funneled money to the National Rifle Association to help Donald Trump win the presidency, two sources familiar with the matter have told McClatchy.

FBI counterintelligence investigators have focused on the activities of Alexander Torshin, the deputy governor of Russia’s central bank who is known for his close relationships with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and the NRA, the sources said.

snip//

Disclosure of the Torshin investigation signals a new dimension in the 18-month-old FBI probe of Russia’s interference. McClatchy reported a year ago that a multi-agency U.S. law enforcement and counterintelligence investigation into Russia’s intervention, begun even before the start of the 2016 general election campaign, initially included a focus on whether the Kremlin secretly helped fund efforts to boost Trump, but little has been said about that possibility in recent months.

The extent to which the FBI has evidence of money flowing from Torshin to the NRA, or of the NRA’s participation in the transfer of funds, could not be learned.

However, the NRA reported spending a record $55 million on the 2016 elections, including $30 million to support Trump – triple what the group devoted to backing Republican Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential race. Most of that was money was spent by an arm of the NRA that is not required to disclose its donors.

Two people with close connections to the powerful gun lobby said its total election spending actually approached or exceeded $70 million. The reporting gap could be explained by the fact that independent groups are not required to reveal how much they spend on Internet ads or field operations, including get-out-the-vote efforts.

more...

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article195231139.html

[Freethinker65]

1. Impossible! The NRA is nonpartisan. Hahahahahaha

[FM123]

2. So that's what the R in NRA stands for, I get it now...

[Kingofalldems]

3. Oh no!

But the NRA has gun safety classes and things! It's okay.

[Mr. Ected]

4. So what are the legal/political ramifications?

What laws may have been broken if this, indeed, took place?

Would the recipients of the NRA largesse be on the hook? What penalties would apply to the NRA if these allegations bear out?

[Irish_Dem]

5. Putin left no stone unturned.

Funneled money to many groups and individuals.

Brilliant but diabolical.

I wonder what else Mueller is uncovering.
Putin's influence is much wider and deeper than we realized.

[L. Coyote]

6. Eric Garland is tweeting this

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[babylonsister]

7. Money launderer for the Russian mob.

Nothing surprises me anymore. Thanks for the extra info!

[HAB911]

8. Hopefully this will also take this guy too

he was in Russia with the NRA

Link to tweet

[Kingofalldems]

9. Kick this one.

[malaise]

10. 3...2...1

Expect a mass shooting

[Initech]

11. I have no doubt in my mind that the NRA was in on it.

They're probably knee deep in it. They are a terrorist organization and have always held a grudge against democrats.