Don't Forget Trump and the NRA

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from Jan.:

The FBI is investigating whether a Russian banker with close ties to Vladimir Putin funneled money through the National Rifle Association to support Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, it was reported on Thursday.

The NRA spent at least $30m to back Trump’s 2016 campaign for president, according to an analysis of public campaign finance records – more than any other outside group, and more than double what it spent to back Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign.

News outlets have been examining ties and meetings between NRA leaders and Russia for months, including a 2015 NRA delegation to Moscow that included meetings with influential Putin allies.

Thursday’s McClatchy article, which names Alexander Torshin as the banker and NRA ally under scrutiny, is the first to report that links between Russia and the NRA have drawn the attention of federal investigators examining Russia’s attempts to influence the 2016 presidential election. The report cited two unnamed sources, noting that the special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference is confidential and often focused on classified information.

read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/18/trump-nra-fbi-alexander-torshin-russia-investigation

also, from 2016:

Just hours after Donald Trump sparked yet another controversy with remarks that seemed, to some, to encourage violence against Hillary Clinton, the NRA went public with its biggest gift yet to the Republican nominee - a $3 million ad buy attacking Clinton as a hypocrite.

The spot – which calls Clinton “out of touch” for living under Secret Service protection while promoting gun restrictions – is the biggest single ad buy for Trump this cycle and it brings the NRA’s total spending this cycle to around $6 million.

“Hillary wants to abolish, essentially abolish, the Second Amendment,” Trump said at a rally. “By the way, and if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don’t know. But I’ll tell you what, that will be a horrible day.”

The NRA jumped to Trump’s defense.

“.@realDonaldTrump is right. If @HillaryClinton gets to pick her anti-#2A #SCOTUS judges, there’s nothing we can do,” the group tweeted. “But there IS something we will do on #ElectionDay: Show up and vote for the #2A! #DefendtheSecond #NeverHillary.”

"The gun lobby is coming to Donald Trump's defense and spending millions of dollars to spread lies about Hillary Clinton because they know Trump will always do their bidding,” said Clinton spokesman Josh Schwerin. "The fact is, too many families in America have suffered—and continue to suffer— from gun violence and the vast majority of the American people – including the vast majority of gun owners – believe we can and must do better,” he added, citing Clinton’s support for measures like expanding background checks.

read: https://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/donald-trump-nra-guns-226852

btw...

Link to tweet

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