“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 allegation that Russia funneled money into the NRA – to directly support Trump's presidential bid – is staggering. Until now, we've understood the Russian support of Trump to have been oblique, delivered by a cadre of Facebook and Twitter trolls, and by the release of hacked DNC and Clinton campaign emails through Wikileaks.
The notion that the Kremlin was supporting Trump's presidential bid financially – and through an organization that holds itself up as a paragon of American patriotism – is almost unreal.
If the allegation bears out, it raises unsettling questions:
How much money did Torshin deliver?
Did the NRA understand that this money was coming from Moscow?
Did the Trump campaign?
Did Russian funds only support Trump – or did the money infiltrate the NRA's broader mission of electing Republicans? (In total, the NRA spent nearly $52 million in the 2016 general election on dozens of House and Senate races.)
Does Russian influence have anything to do with the fascistic turn in NRA messaging?”
https://www.rollingstone.com/politi...onnection-heres-what-you-need-to-know-w515615
The allegation that Russia funneled money into the NRA – to directly support Trump's presidential bid – is staggering. Until now, we've understood the Russian support of Trump to have been oblique, delivered by a cadre of Facebook and Twitter trolls, and by the release of hacked DNC and Clinton campaign emails through Wikileaks.
The notion that the Kremlin was supporting Trump's presidential bid financially – and through an organization that holds itself up as a paragon of American patriotism – is almost unreal.
If the allegation bears out, it raises unsettling questions:
How much money did Torshin deliver?
Did the NRA understand that this money was coming from Moscow?
Did the Trump campaign?
Did Russian funds only support Trump – or did the money infiltrate the NRA's broader mission of electing Republicans? (In total, the NRA spent nearly $52 million in the 2016 general election on dozens of House and Senate races.)
Does Russian influence have anything to do with the fascistic turn in NRA messaging?”
https://www.rollingstone.com/politi...onnection-heres-what-you-need-to-know-w515615