Two Democratic senators want the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold a public hearing with top officials of the National Rifle Association on Russian interference attempts.
Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Shelden Whitehouse or Rhode Island would like to see the Senate panel bring in NRA officials to look into the “extent” of their relationships with certain Russians.
The request comes after Maria Butina was indicted last week for acting as an unregistered foreign agent of Russia. Butina worked for Alexander Torshin, who is reportedly under investigation by the FBI for funneling money to the NRA in an effort to help elect then-candidate Donald Trump.
[Also read: DHS official warns 2018 midterm elections a potential target for Russian interference]
Butina also worked with Paul Erickson, a Republican political operative, to set up a so-called “backchannel” between the Russian government and U.S. politicians.
Erickson had a shell company called Bridges LLC that was used to fund Butina’s actions in the U.S., and that company was under investigation by the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Furthermore, the Treasury Department has collected a handful of suspicious activity reports from banks on Butina, Erickson, Bridges LLC, and Torshin, who was sanctioned earlier this year.
In a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the two lawmakers say they want to know what the officials know about the Russian government’s attempts to influence their organization.
“It is illegal for foreign groups and individuals to contribute directly or indirectly to political campaigns in the United States,” Blumenthal and Whitehouse wrote.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is also tasked with oversight of federal campaign finance law.
Butina, who recently graduated from American University in Washington, was jailed by a magistrate judge last week pending her trial. Court documents show she had ties to Russian intelligence.
