Today, The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control Sanctions Russian Official Reportedly Involved in FBI Probe Into “Whether Russian Money Went to [the] NRA to Help Trump”
Last Week, the NRA Admitted to ABC News That It Took Money From Alexander Torshin
NEW YORK – Everytown for Gun Safety released the following statement today after the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Vladimir Putin ally, Alexander Torshin, who is reportedly key to an FBI probe into “whether Russian money went to [the] NRA to help Trump.”
In an ABC News report last week, the NRA admitted to taking money from Torshin, claiming it was his “life membership payment” of less than $1,000. “We have one contribution from a Russian,” Steven Hart, outside counsel to the NRA, said in an interview with ABC News. Hart said it was the “life membership payment” made by Alexander Torshin, a Russian politician who contributed to the NRA’s non-profit parent organization which is not required by law to disclose the donation. Hart added, “The donation was the person’s membership dues” and was not used for election-related activities. “That was not a major donor program,” he said.
The admission followed the NRA’s March 19 letter to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), in which the NRA’s General Counsel stated that the NRA received no money from “entities or individuals” connected to Russia during 2015-2016.
Last month, NPR released a report that revealed stunning ties between NRA leadership and top Putin ally and lifetime NRA member Alexander Torshin. According to NPR, Torshin “methodically cultivated ties with leaders of the National Rifle Association, and documented efforts in real time over six years to leverage those connections and gain access deeper into American politics.”
Torshin is now the second Russian official under sanctions with whom NRA officials have cultivated a relationship. In December 2015, an NRA delegation reportedly met with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who was then and continues to be subject to U.S. sanctions.
STATEMENT FROM JOHN FEINBLATT, PRESIDENT OF EVERYTOWN FOR GUN SAFETY:
“Just look at the company the NRA keeps – a top Putin ally who has now been sanctioned by the Department of Treasury. Here’s some free advice to the NRA: Come clean about your entanglements with Putin’s Russia before you lose all credibility.”