A new report by Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee alleges that the National Rifle Association (NRA) “became a foreign asset” for Russia ahead of the 2016 election.
The document published Friday says that the NRA and its officers, board members and donors “engaged in a years-long effort to facilitate the U.S.-based activities of Maria Butina and Alexander Torshin,” despite being aware of the two Russian nationals’ ties to the Kremlin.
“The scope of the NRA’s support for these Russian activities raises concerns about whether the activity in which the NRA, its officers and board members engaged were in furtherance of the organization’s exempt purpose,” it said.
Last year, Butina pleaded guilty to acting as an unregistered foreign agent on behalf of the Russian government.
Torshin is a Russian banker and former politician.
The report cited a series of emails between NRA officials and and interviews conducted during the 18-month investigation.
One 2015 email seen by NRA executives said “Many powerful figures in the Kremlin are counting on Torshin to prove his American connections–a last minute important member cancellation could affect his political future.”
The Senate Democrats also found that over a years-long period, “NRA officers and board members directed organization resources toward facilitating the activities of Butina and Torshin in the United States.”
The report also raised questions about an NRA delegation’s travel to Moscow in December 2015.
“The NRA initially reimbursed some trip expenses,” it said. “In 2018, after Senator Wyden first asked the NRA about its relationship to Torshin, the organization sought reimbursement … to get trip expense payments ‘off the NRA’s books.’ “
Democrats said that the report shows wrongdoing by the gun rights organization.
“During the 2016 election, Russian nationals effectively used the promise of lucrative personal business opportunities to capture the NRA and gain access to the American political system,” Sen. Ron Wyden (Ore.), the top Democrat on the Financial Services Committee said in a statement. “The totality of evidence uncovered during my investigation, as well as the mounting evidence of rampant self-dealing, indicate the NRA may have violated tax laws. This report lays out in significant detail that the NRA lied about the 2015 delegation trip to Moscow.”
“The report from the Senate Finance Committee shows the NRA has been engaged in business activities and self-dealing that likely violate nonprofit rules under the tax code. The NRA has abused its tax-exempt status and essentially become a business enterprise that its board members and leadership use for lucrative personal business opportunities, including in Moscow,” said Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) in a statement. “As the disturbing truth continues to surface, the NRA’s status as a tax exempt entity needs to be thoroughly investigated.”
The Hill has reached out to the NRA for comment on the report.
Republicans on the Financial Services Committee published a rebuttal report on Friday that found “no wrongdoing by the NRA or its officials that would reasonably call into question the NRA’s tax-exempt status, based on the documents provided to the Committee.”
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#BREAKING: Senate Democrats find top NRA officials knew about Kremlin ties https://t.co/YGOWbE9oTO pic.twitter.com/gGPCu6g15b
— The Hill (@thehill) September 27, 2019
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