The Federal Election Commission has begun looking into whether the National Rifle Association received illegal contributions from Russian entities during the 2016 presidential election in an effort to benefit President Trump’s campaign.
The American Democracy Fund, the liberal advocacy group that filed a complaint which triggered the preliminary inquiry, asked the FEC to investigate links between the NRA and Russian entities, including a donor with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, sources told Politico. The FEC declined to confirm or deny the probe for the report because the agency is prohibited from doing so until any such inquiry is complete.
The NRA’s lobbying arm, the Institute for Legislative Action, contributed a total of $30 million to Trump’s presidential campaign.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., recently raised similar concerns; the Senate Finance Committee member has been looking into whether Russian-backed entities used the NRA to funnel contributions to the Trump campaign.
Wyden penned a letter to the NRA in February asking about any dealings with individuals or businesses with Russian ties that could have donated money as a way to “inappropriately and illegally” influence our elections.
According to Wyden’s office, an attorney for the NRA replied that the group was already “answering questions about possible Russian donations as part of an FEC inquiry.”
During the preliminary FEC probe, the NRA will likely be asked to turn over documents and records related to the group’s finances. Depending on what is found, the agency could launch a full-blown investigation that could result in fines and/or criminal referrals with the Justice Department and special counsel Robert Mueller.
