Thread by @lfbensimon, Here's an interesting news thread to consider in light of the news [...]

Here's an interesting news thread to consider in light of the news that New York attorney has filled a law suit accusing the #NRA of wide-ranging fraud (1) https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/nra-lapierre-ny-attorney-general/2020/08/06/8e389794-d794-11ea-930e-d88518c57dcc_story.html

New York attorney general seeks to dissolve NRA in suit accusing gun rights group of wide-ranging...

In a civil suit filed Wednesday, New York Attorney General Letitia James alleges that CEO Wayne LaPierre and other top leaders drained $64 million from the nonprofit in three years.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/nra-lapierre-ny-attorney-general/2020/08/06/8e389794-d794-11ea-930e-d88518c57dcc_story.html

An 18-month probe by the Senate Finance Committee found in 2017 that the #NRA acted as a "foreign asset" for #Russia in the period leading up to the 2016 election (2) https://www.npr.org/2019/09/27/764879242/nra-was-foreign-asset-to-russia-ahead-of-2016-new-senate-report-reveals

NRA Was 'Foreign Asset' To Russia Ahead of 2016, New Senate Report Reveals

Emails and interviews detail the extent to which the National Rifle Association helped two of Moscow's agents ahead of the election, Senate Finance Committee Democrats say.

https://www.npr.org/2019/09/27/764879242/nra-was-foreign-asset-to-russia-ahead-of-2016-new-senate-report-reveals

In Jan 2019, congressional investigators were examining a trip to #Russia by a #NRA delegation in Dec 2015, hosted by #MariaButina, a Russian agent who pleaded guilty to taking part in a covert effort to infiltrate American conservative groups (3) https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/26/us/nra-russia.html

Who Paid for the N.R.A.’s ‘Special Projects’ Trip to Russia?

Internal emails and a tangle of reimbursements raise new questions about a visit to Russia by N.R.A. board members and supporters.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/26/us/nra-russia.html

In 2019 the FBI was investigating potential link between Kremlin-connected #Russian banker, Alexander Torshin, and the #NRA to funnel illegal contributions into Trump campaign. Republicans on the Federal Election Commission blocked the investigation (4) https://about.bgov.com/news/russia-meddling-uproar-worsens-as-probe-of-nras-role-is-dropped/

Russia-Meddling Uproar Worsens as Probe of NRA’s Role is Dropped

Rejecting a probe of potential links between the Russians and the National Rifle Association has sparked a particularly bitter partisan rift on the Federal Election Commission, resulting in accusat...

https://about.bgov.com/news/russia-meddling-uproar-worsens-as-probe-of-nras-role-is-dropped/

In 2016 the #NRA spent more than $52million on GOP campaigns (over $30million in Trump's campaign alone) breaking its historical record of $31.6million in 2014, and making it the single largest outside contributor to the Republican party (5) https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2016/11/the-nra-placed-big-bets-on-the-2016-election-and-won-almost-all-of-them/

The NRA Placed Big Bets on the 2016 Election, and Won Almost All of Them

Before Election Day, polls suggested the Senate was up for grabs. The NRA focused the majority of its resources on 6 seats, hoping to keep them Republican.

https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2016/11/the-nra-placed-big-bets-on-the-2016-election-and-won-almost-all-of-them/

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