The NRA and Foreign Donations

[HCM]

NRA Says It Receives Foreign Funds, But None Goes To Election Work

The National Rifle Association acknowledged that it accepts foreign donations but says it does not use them for election work — even as federal investigators look into the role the NRA might have played in Russia's attack on the 2016 election.

Pressure on the organization has also been increased by a McClatchy report that suggested that the FBI had been investigating whether a top Russian banker with Kremlin ties illegally funneled money to the NRA to aid Donald Trump's campaign for president. The Federal Election Commission has also opened a preliminary investigation into this question.

The NRA is not required to be transparent about how money moves among its various political entities, and this leaves questions unanswered about how these foreign funds were ultimately spent.

In the context of ongoing investigations, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, wrote to the NRA earlier this month asking, "Can you categorically state that your organizations have never, wittingly or unwittingly, received any contributions from individuals or entities acting as conduits for foreign entities or interests?"

The NRA said it does receive foreign money but not for election purposes.

"While we do receive some contributions from foreign individuals and entities, those contributions are made directly to the NRA for lawful purposes," NRA's General Counsel John C. Frazer wrote to Wyden in a letter obtained by NPR. "Our review of our records has found no foreign donations in connection with a United States election, either directly or through a conduit."

https://www.npr.org/2018/03/27/59727...-election-work

This may or may not be an actual problem, but the so called progressives will do their best to make it appear as if it is.

[Drang]

Once again, when it comes to money, the IRS recognizes several different organizations that are commonly thought to be a monolithic "NRA." The NRA, the NRA-ILA, the NRA PVF (Political Victory Fund), the NRA Foundation...

Each one is different.

i would laugh my ass of if they find out some Russky Oligarch gave money to the NRA Foundation, to help teach Home Firearm Safety classes...

[joshs]

Once again, when it comes to money, the IRS recognizes several different organizations that are commonly thought to be a monolithic "NRA." The NRA, the NRA-ILA, the NRA PVF (Political Victory Fund), the NRA Foundation...

Each one is different.

i would laugh my ass of if they find out some Russky Oligarch gave money to the NRA Foundation, to help teach Home Firearm Safety classes...

If you read the letter from John Frazer to Senator Wyden, he makes clear that even that did not happen. There have been several misleading articles on the letter made public yesterday. These stories are attempting to distort the truth that is clearly stated in the letter: NRA receives only a small amount of money from foreign individuals every year, which almost exclusively comes from foreign member dues.

[HCM]

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018...utors-say.html

Accused Russian spy Maria Butina offered sex in exchange for US job, prosecutors say

The 29-year-old Russian woman accused of covertly working as a foreign agent while living in the United States allegedly offered to have sex with an unnamed individual in return for a job in the United States, prosecutors said Tuesday.

And that's not all. According to new court filings, Maria Butina allegedly “gained access” to "an extensive network of U.S. persons in positions to influence political activities in the United States" by living with and having a personal relationship with another individual.

Prosecutors revealed the new allegations against Butina in documents filed Tuesday ahead of a court hearing.

They asked the judge in the case to keep Butina in jail before her trial, arguing she’s a flight risk.

“Butina is a Russian citizen with no meaningful ties to the United States; she has every reason to flee this prosecution,” U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu wrote in the court document.

According to the documents, Butina was living with a 56-year-old individual described as "U.S. Person 1."

"But this relationship does not represent a strong tie to the United States because Butina appears to treat it as simply a necessary aspect of her activities,” prosecutors wrote, saying the FBI obtained papers where she complained and "expressed disdain" about the individual.

Meanwhile, the prosecutors said Butina offered another individual “sex in exchange for a position within a special interest organization.”

Butina is accused of conspiring to infiltrate U.S. political organizations — possibly including the National Rifle Association — at the direction of an unnamed senior Kremlin official.

Butina, who accompanied Republican activist Paul Erickson to President Trump’s inauguration, has been charged with acting as a foreign agent, as well as conspiracy to act as an unregistered agent of the Russian government.