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]
The NRA has acknowledged receiving foreign donations, and Torshin hasn't exactly been shy about using his ties with the NRA to link up with Trump. Paul Waldman has more about the NRA-Russia-Trump nexus at The Week.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Political cartoons for November 23Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include a Thanksgiving horn of plenty, the naughty list, and more
-
How will climate change affect the UK?The Explainer Met Office projections show the UK getting substantially warmer and wetter – with more extreme weather events
-
Crossword: November 23, 2025The daily crossword from The Week
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
