The National Rifle Association (NRA) has grown rather quiet over the past year regarding its Links to Russia, and Two Democratic Lawmakers want to know why.
Top NRA Members made a Trip to Moscow in 2015 that the Organization has since tried to Distance itself from, with its outside Counsel saying CEO Wayne LaPierre was "personally opposed" to the Trip.
But Internal Emails and Social Media Posts suggest the NRA not only Supported the Trip but helped Organize it.
“We are disturbed by the lack of transparency the NRA has demonstrated surrounding the December 2015 trip to Moscow,” Democratic Reps. Ted Lieu (D-CA, 33rd District) and Kathleen Rice (D-NY, 4th District) write in a Letter.
But that's just the tip of the iceberg. The Two Lawmakers are Launching an Investigation into the “complex web of relationships” between the NRA and Moscow and they want to know whether the NRA served as a Vehicle for the Kremlin to Illegally Exert Influence over U.S. Elections.
“How much money did the NRA receive from Russia or Russia-linked individuals or entities during the 2016 election cycle?” the Lawmakers wrote in the Letter. “Did the NRA use any of that money in their 2016 election campaign contributions?” The NRA lavished a Record Amount of Money on the 2016 Elections, more than $50 Million in Total, with $30 Million going to Trump, and most of the Remainder being used to shore up GOP Senate Candidates in Tight Re-Election Bids.
Lieu and Rice are asking the NRA to turn over Records of any Communications, Meetings, or Financial Transactions between NRA Officials and Individuals linked to Russia.
The 2015 Moscow Trip was Spearheaded by alleged Russian Spy Maria Butina, who sought to Infiltrate the NRA. On December 13th, 2018, she pleaded Guilty to Conspiracy to Act as an Illegal Foreign Agent, while the Original Charge of Failing to Register as a Foreign Agent was Dropped, She faces a Maximum Sentence of Five years in Prison and will likely be Deported after Serving any Time.
The NRA Delegation met with an Entourage of well-connected Russians, including:
- Butina's Boss, Alexander Torshin, who was Serving as Deputy Governor of the Russian Central Bank at the time and has since gone into the Shadows.
- Russia’s then-Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin.
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, a Close Ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) has already Launched a similar Probe into the mysterious Moscow Trip and has called it "not credible" for NRA Officials to Claim they didn't take part in the Planning.
The Investigation by the House Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees, respectively, will be Invested with the Power of the Subpoena.
The NRA is having serious Financial Issues that may render it “unable to exist… or pursue its advocacy mission,” according to a Legal Complaint filed against New York State.
The NRA claims the State of New York Subjected it to a “blacklisting campaign” that resulted in “tens of millions of dollars in Damages” because it has Lost Insurance Coverage, which it needs to “maintain its physical premises, convene off-site meetings and events, operate educational programs,” and “hold rallies, conventions, and assemblies.”
Its Inability to receive Media Liability Insurance also Jeopardizes the NRA’s TV Programs and Magazines, the Gun Group states in the Complaint. In May 2018, New York Financial Regulators determined that the NRA was Illegally Selling Insurance Policies to Gun Owners that Protected them from Court Costs after they Fired Weapons in Acts of “intentional wrongdoing.” The NRA Claims that after this, New York went on to try to Separate it from Business Partners. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has previously said the NRA’s Case was “a futile and desperate attempt to advance its dangerous agenda to sell more guns.” An NRA Financial Disclosure from 2016 shows the Association Overspent by almost $46 Million.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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