Tag: NRA

Maria Butina, Russian gun-rights advocate who sought to build ties with NRA, charged with acting as a covert Russian agent

The following article by Rosalind S. Helderman, Tom Jackman and Devlin Barrett was posted on the Washington Post website July 16,2018:

Maria Butina, 29, founded a Russian group called the Right to Bear Arms. On July 16 she was charged with conspiracy to act as an agent of Russia. (Patrick Martin/The Washington Post)

A Russian woman with ties to a senior Russian government official was charged in Washington on Monday with conspiracy to act as an agent of the Russian Federation, including by building ties to the leadership of the National Rifle Association and other conservative politicalorganizations.

Maria Butina, 29, who recently received a graduate degree from American University, was arrested Sunday in the District and made her first appearance in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson, where she was ordered held without bond.

Butina is accused of trying to cultivate relationships with American politicians to establish “back channel” lines of communication and seeking to infiltrate U.S. political groups, including an unnamed “gun rights organization,” to advance Russia’s agenda. Descriptions in court papers match published reports about Butina’s interactions with the NRA.

View the complete article on the Washington Post website here.

NRA complains Trump’s child detention centers are ‘too nice’

The following article by Oliver Willis was posted on the ShareBlue.com website June 23, 2018:

As part of its ongoing crusade to defend Trump and attack his detractors, NRA-TV is now complaining that facilities used to hold children taken from their families are ‘too nice.’

The NRA is promoting the ridiculous allegation that children who’ve been ripped apart from their families are being held in facilities that are “too nice.” Continue reading “NRA complains Trump’s child detention centers are ‘too nice’”

It’s a Mystery

It’s a mystery to me why Paulsen could not simply answer “yes” or “no” to a question asked by three different people at different times during the town-hall session I attended in Brooklyn Park. The first person could not have been more clear when she asked him to respond “yes” or “no” to whether he would accept funds from the National Rifle Association. Paulsen insulted her and the rest of us by responding that he did not expect any contribution from the NRA.

Did he think we were stupid and would not notice his issue avoidance? That is when our frustrations with yet another non-answer to a question from someone in attendance boiled over and we became, in his words, “more boisterous” than those in attendance at the two town-hall sessions held earlier in the day. Yes, some of us briefly gave voice to our contempt. Continue reading “It’s a Mystery”

The NRA sees a bleak Hobbesian world. So why does it want to arm individuals with guns?

The following article by Christopher R. Hallenbrook and Ryan Reed was posted on the Washington Post website April 19, 2018:

National Rifle Association chief executive Wayne LaPierre on Feb. 22 echoed calls from President Trump and advocated for more protection and guns at schools. (The Washington Post)

The National Rifle Association has launched a new membership drive aimed at helping the organization oppose gun regulation. It will need the increased support. The Delaware, Massachusetts and New Jersey legislatures are all working on new gun regulations of various kinds — responding to the momentum of last month’s March for Our Lives and the Parkland, Fla., students‘ ongoing campaign against gun violence. It’s just the latest iteration of Americans’ ongoing debate about regulating guns, a debate that often erupts — as it did this time — after another mass shooting.

Many gun-regulation proposals are extremely popular. For instance, 82 percent of Americans support banning bump stocks like the one used in the Las Vegas shooting, and 97 percent approve of universal background checks. Continue reading “The NRA sees a bleak Hobbesian world. So why does it want to arm individuals with guns?”

FEC reviewing whether NRA accepted illegal Russian donations in 2016: report

The following article by Josh Delk was posted on the Hill website March 17, 2018:

Credit: Getty Images

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has reportedly opened a preliminary probe into whether the National Rifle Association (NRA) took illegal contributions from Russian entities aimed at benefiting President Trump‘s 2016 campaign.

The review was triggered in part after the American Democracy Legal Fund (ADLF), a liberal advocacy group, filed an FEC complaint urging the commission to probe whether money from foreign nationals was aimed at helping the Trump campaign, Politico reports.

The NRA and its lobbying arm spent $30 million in the 2016 election to support Trump. A spokesman for the gun rights group declined to comment to Politico about the FEC probe. Continue reading “FEC reviewing whether NRA accepted illegal Russian donations in 2016: report”

Ginny Klevorn will have my support in November

To the Editor:

It is so exciting that the hockey team from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is coming to Plymouth, Minnesota, to play in a hockey tournament! Wayzata High School is hosting the event later this month (March 22-25).

I am anticipating a strong outpouring of support for the Florida students. However, I would be remiss to ignore the fact that our very own state representative in 44A, Plymouth, Sarah Anderson (R), has a rating of A+ from the NRA. She accepted $3,725.32 from the NRA Political Victory Fund in 2016 (Vote Freedom First). Anderson was endorsed by the Minnesota Gun Owners PAC in 2014 (Sun Sailor 10-25-16). In an interview in the Sun Sailor (10-25-16), she stated that states that closed the background check loophole and saw resulting 46-percent drop in gun deaths are an “anomaly.” Continue reading “Ginny Klevorn will have my support in November”

The trouble with the White House’s spin on Trump and guns, in one exchange

The following article by Callum Borchers was posted on the Washington Post website March 12, 2018:

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on March 12 said President Trump “hasn’t backed away” from previous proposals to help prevent mass shootings. (Reuters)

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders did her best on Monday to argue that President Trump is not backing down but rather prioritizing on gun control.

A newly released administration plan calls for improving reporting to the existing background-check system for gun buyers and training some educators to carry firearms in schools, but it does not propose raising the minimum purchasing age for military-style rifles from 18 to 21, an idea Trump previously endorsed. Instead, the plan directs a commission led by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to “study and make recommendations” on “age restrictions for certain firearm purchases.” Continue reading “The trouble with the White House’s spin on Trump and guns, in one exchange”

Wyden Wants Details on NRA Links to Russian Bank Official

The following article by Griffin Connolly was posted on the Roll Call website February 2, 2018:

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., requested documents linking a Russian central banker to the NRA. Credit: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call

Sen. Ron Wyden has questions for the National Rifle Association.

The Oregon Democrat requested any documents showing financial links between the organization and Russia, The Associated Press reported Friday.

Wyden’s request comes after reports last month that the gun lobbying titan may have received money from a top Russian central bank official during the 2016 presidential election.

The FBI is investigating any ties the NRA might have to Alexander Torshin, the deputy governor of Russia’s central bank and a close associate of President Vladimir Putin, a number of outlets reported last month. Continue reading “Wyden Wants Details on NRA Links to Russian Bank Official”

FBI investigating whether Russian money went to NRA to help Trump

The following article by Peter Stone and Greg Gordon was posted on the McClatchyDC website January 18 2018:

President Trump addressed the National Rifle Association (NRA) convention on April 28, 2017. He’s the first president to do so in more than 30 years. “The eight-year assault on your second amendment freedoms has come to a crashing end,” Trump said. The White House

The FBI is investigating whether a top Russian banker with ties to the Kremlin illegally funneled money to the National Rifle Association to help Donald Trump win the presidency, two sources familiar with the matter have told McClatchy.

FBI counterintelligence investigators have focused on the activities of Alexander Torshin, the deputy governor of Russia’s central bank who is known for his close relationships with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and the NRA, the sources said. Continue reading “FBI investigating whether Russian money went to NRA to help Trump”

Mueller reportedly investigating whether Russia funneled money through the NRA to elect Trump

The following article by Josh Israel was posted on the ThinkProgress website January 18, 2018:

Deputy Governor of the Russian Central Bank, Alexander Torshin, at a 2016 National Rifle Assoc Event. Credit: Screenshot of Torshin’s Tweet

McClatchy report says Robert Mueller’s investigation examining whether Kremlin funneled 2016 election funds through the gun group.

Robert Mueller’s investigation is probing whether a key Kremlin figure with close ties with the National Rifle Association may have illegally funneled money through the gun-rights group to influence the 2016 election, according to a new McClatchy report.

In November 2016, ThinkProgress examined the NRA’s strange relationship with the leadership of Right to Bear Arms, a Moscow-based pro-gun organization run by a twenty-something activist named Maria Butina and her close friend and boss, the deputy governor of the Russian central bank, Alexander Torshin. Continue reading “Mueller reportedly investigating whether Russia funneled money through the NRA to elect Trump”