The relationship between Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign and the National Rifle Association has now drawn the attention of special counsel Robert Mueller and his investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
Former Trump aide Sam Nunberg told CNN that Mueller’s team asked about the NRA during interviews Nunberg had with the special counsel’s office, marking the first time that the NRA has been mentioned in regards to Mueller’s investigation.
Mueller’s investigators have reportedly been asking about President Trump’s connection to the NRA for over a month now, but Trump was not asked about the gun rights group in written questions submitted to him, and the president’s legal team has been resistant to an in-person interview.
The NRA has had recent dealings with Russians called into question, including the sanctioning of a Russian NRA member by Trump’s administration, NRA associate Maria Butina’s guilty plea to acting as an illegal foreign agent, and the group’s acknowledgment of more than 20 Russian-linked contributors who have given financially to the NRA.
The NRA endorsed Trump in 2016 and invested significantly in the 2016 election.
