Senate Democrats suggest they saw evidence the Kremlin used the NRA to access and aid the Trump campaign

President Trump and NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre.

(Image credit: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)

last updated 17 May 2018

On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee dumped 2,500 pages of testimony and documents about its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, specifically the June 9, 2016, meeting Donald Trump Jr. set up with a Kremlin-linked lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, who was promising "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. But the committee Democrats, led by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), also released a separate summary of findings and outstanding questions about the Trump campaigns ties to Russia.

In one section, the Democrats state that "the committee has obtained a number of documents that suggest the Kremlin used the National Rifle Association as a means of accessing and assisting Mr. Trump and his campaign," especially Russian nationals Alexander Torshin, deputy governor of the Russian central bank and an ally of President Vladimir Putin, and his assistant Maria Butina. Specifically:

During the campaign, Mr. Torshin, Ms. Butina, and their intermediaries repeatedly offered the campaign back channels to Russia and relayed requests from President Putin to meet with Mr. Trump. The Kremlin may also have used the NRA to secretly fund Mr. Trump's campaign. The extent of Russia's use of the NRA as an avenue for connecting with and potentially supporting the Trump campaign needs examination. [Senate Judiciary Democrats]

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.