FBI counterintelligence investigators are focused on the activities of Russian politician and Deputy Governor of Russia’s central bank, Alexander Torshin, to determine whether he illegally funneled money to the National Rifle Association to help Donald Trump win the presidency. Torshin is known for his close relationship with both Vladimir Putin and the NRA. It is illegal to use money to influence foreign elections. McClatchy, January 23, 2018:
Disclosure of the Torshin investigation signals a new dimension in the 18-month-old FBI probe of Russia’s interference. McClatchy reported a year ago that a multi-agency U.S. law enforcement and counterintelligence investigation into Russia’s intervention, begun even before the start of the 2016 general election campaign, initially included a focus on whether the Kremlin secretly helped fund efforts to boost Trump, but little has been said about that possibility in recent months.
The extent to which the FBI has evidence of money flowing from Torshin to the NRA, or of the NRA’s participation in the transfer of funds, could not be learned.
However, the NRA reported spending a record $55 million on the 2016 elections, including $30 million to support Trump – triple what the group devoted to backing Republican Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential race. Most of that was money was spent by an arm of the NRA that is not required to disclose its donors.
Torshin has claimed that his NRA ties enabled him to be a foreign election observer in the 2012 election. He has written numerous times on twitter about his connections with the NRA, of which he is a paid lifetime member. NPR:
On his verified Twitter account, Torshin talked about how he knew Donald Trump through the NRA, citing a connection at the group's 2015 convention. Responding to a tweet about comedian Larry David accusing Trump of being a racist, Torshin said he knew the businessman through the NRA, and defended him.
Torshin had made repeated attempts to meet with Donald Trump himself at that convention during the presidential election year, but there is no evidence of this occurring. A conservative activist with ties to Torshin aide Maria Butina reached out to the Trump campaign in 2016, saying that Russia was "quietly but actively seeking a dialogue with the U.S." and would try to use the NRA convention to make "first contact," the New York Times reported.
"Putin is deadly serious about building a good relationship with Mr. Trump," the activist, Paul Erickson wrote. "He wants to extend an invitation to Mr. Trump to visit him in the Kremlin before the election." Erickson has business ties to Butina, having started an LLC with her in South Dakota.
Torshin has used his repeated trips to NRA conventions to cultivate relationships with top NRA officials. And his Twitter account documents that he has personally met with every person who has been president of the NRA since 2012.
As you would expect the White House is stonewalling.
"I saw him in Nashville" in April 2015, Torshin added later, the date and site of the NRA's 2015 convention. Trump gave a speech at that convention, the outlines of which would become familiar as his stump speech throughout the 2016 presidential campaign. The White House did not respond to repeated requests for comment by NPR, but denied Trump has ever met Torshin to Bloomberg News in 2017.
Torshin's attendance at the NRA convention in 2016 is where he reportedly met with Donald Trump, Jr.
Meanwhile, Comrade Torshin keeps currying favor with the NRA. His newest BFF is NRA American Rifleman and former President Allan Cors.
Translation of January 2017 tweet: "Bought a gift for NRA President Allan Cors. Tanks are his favorite topic!"
Cors is the founder of the Virginia Museum of Military Vehicles, according to its website.
In a public DropBox album that Torshin linked to from his Twitter account, he's seen meeting with former NRA president Jim Porter, as well as former NRA president David Keene.
His tweets suggest a longtime relationship with Keene, who repeatedly appears in photos as Torshin documents his visits,suggesting that their meeting was not merely coincidental. Keene did not respond to a request for comment.
Torshin has also met the current president of the NRA, Pete Brownell. Brownell was part of an NRA delegation that visited Moscow in 2015.
The dots are connecting solidly at this point. There’s even one that connects to money laundering and the Russian Mafia, surprise, surprise.
Translation of January 2015 tweet: "I was there at Obama's last election! The NRA card, to me as an observer from Russia, opened access to any [polling] station."
"Tennessee resident Kline Preston requested Mr. Torshin to be an international observer in November 2012," Adam Ghassemi, a spokesman for the Tennessee Secretary of State, told NPR. The Washington Post reported last year that Preston, a Tennessee lawyer, was the one who originally introduced Torshin to former NRA president David Keene back in 2011.
The heat is on the Russian politician, who was alleged by Spanish police to have directed financial transactions for the Russian mob. Not only is the FBI reportedly investigating him — the bureau declined to comment for this story — but lawmakers involved in congressional investigations have also expressed interest in Torshin.
But wait, there’s more.
Glenn Simpson, the co-founder of research firm Fusion GPS, alluded to Torshin and the NRA during his closed-door testimony before the House intelligence committee in November.
"It appears the Russians, you know, infiltrated the NRA. And there is more than one explanation for why," Simpson told lawmakers. "But I would say broadly speaking, it appears that the Russian operation was designed to infiltrate conservative organizations. And they targeted various conservative organizations, religious and otherwise, and they seem to have made a very concerted effort to get in with the NRA."
This is the fissure that’s bubbling in the Trump-Russia investigation. It’s going to explode soon.