Did a shadowy Russian banker close to Vladimir Putin illegally give money to the National Rifle Association to support the presidential campaign of Donald Trump? That's the subject of an active FBI investigation, according to an
explosive report by McClatchy.
The Trump-Russia-NRA Connection: Here’s What You Need to Know
Unprecedented Trump Support
The National Rifle Association spent tens of millions of dollars backing Trump's presidential bid in 2016. The NRA
endorsed Trump in May 2016. And the NRA disclosed it spent at least
$30 million on Trump's behalf and attacking Hillary Clinton. That level of support is unprecedented – more than twice what the NRA disclosed it
spent on Mitt Romney's 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 Trump's 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 group's spending will advance the GOP cause.
It is illegal, however, for foreign money to be used to influence U.S. elections. According to McClatchy, the heart of the FBI investigation is whether the NRA became a conduit for Russian cash, linked to the Kremlin, that bolstered Trump.
The Banker and "Godfather"
The key figure in the NRA/Russia investigation, McClatchy reports, is Alexander Torshin. Torshin is a longtime Putin ally who previously served as a top Russian senator. He is now a deputy governor of Russia's central bank, where his purview includes cracking down on the outflow of dirty money.
That's ironic, because Torshin has been linked to money laundering. Bloomberg
reported
As a result of this investigation, Spain convicted a Torshin underling – who reportedly called Torshin "boss" and "godfather" in recordings – and sentenced this man to nearly four years in prison for illegal transactions totaling more than $1.8 million. Torshin himself was not charged; a Spanish official told Bloomberg that Russia won't cooperate in cases against top politicians. Toshin has denied any wrongdoing.
NRA Connections
Torshin helped establish a Russian gun group called Right to Bear Arms, whose president calls Torshin "
a great gun lover." Torshin is also a
life member of the NRA – and forged ties to its leadership after attending the NRA's national convention in 2013. McClatchy reports that, in 2015, Toshin hosted "a high-level NRA delegation" during a week-long Moscow trip "that included meetings with influential Russian government and business figures." An attendee describes a debauched week: "They were killing us with vodka and the best Russian food," he told McClatchy. "The trip exceeded my expectations by logarithmic levels."
