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MelissaB

(16,420 posts)
Sun Apr 2, 2017, 12:01 PM Apr 2017

The NRA & Steve Bannon get caught up in the Russian web

Last edited Sun Apr 2, 2017, 12:47 PM - Edit history (1)

The entire article is worth the read. I only pulled 4 paragraphs per DU rules.

The Spanish connection with Trump’s Russia scandal

Alexander Torshin, deputy governor of the Central Bank of Russia and investigated in Spain for money laundering, has infiltrated the US president’s circle


On February 1, Alexander Torshin, 63, a Russian politician and banker who is close to Vladimir Putin and whom the Spanish anti-corruption prosecutor and the Civil Guard define in their reports as a godfather from a notorious Russian mafia organization, had in his diary for the next day an appointment to meet in Washington with the world’s most powerful man: Donald Trump. The encounter was due to take place before an official and well-attended breakfast meeting, which Torshin attended as the head of a Russian delegation. The meeting was canceled that very night, according to sources from the White House, given the wave of criticism in the US press related to the influence of determined Russian circles in President Trump’s power teams. But the information reveals the heights to which this person, who has been investigated by the Spanish authorities, had reached in his rise to the upper echelons of the American leader’s circle.

Torshin, who is currently the deputy governor of the Central Bank of Russia, has met with one of the children of the US president, has close links with the organization that provided the most money for Trump’s election campaign, the National Rifle Association (NRA), and attended the aforementioned breakfast that Donald Trump presided over in the White House in February.

...snip

The point of entry for Torshin to the upper echelons of US politics was the National Rifle Association (NRA), which is perhaps the most powerful lobby in the United States. The NRA invested more than $21 million in Trump’s election campaign, more than any other organization. According to the group’s official magazine, the NRA proclaimed itself to be “the key” to the Trump victory.

...snip

During that visit to Washington, Torshin did have dinner with two Republican congressmen. The date was February 1 in a French restaurant, according to an article published in Time magazine two weeks ago, and at which Maria Butina and a close friend of Trump White House strategist Stephen Bannon were also present.

More: http://elpais.com/elpais/2017/03/31/inenglish/1490984556_409827.html


22 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
The NRA & Steve Bannon get caught up in the Russian web (Original Post) MelissaB Apr 2017 OP
The NRA are idiots Jonny Appleseed Apr 2017 #1
They're good salesmen, their tagets are idiots. synergie Apr 2017 #18
Good to hear Bannon's name to finally get dragged into this. Hopefully Pence will too. KittyWampus Apr 2017 #2
Yes, yes, yes, yes, and YES. calimary Apr 2017 #16
Trump + Russian mobsters + NRA + Trump kid, and $$ - a recipe for evil soup. fleabiscuit Apr 2017 #3
Barrel strokers will not be happy HAB911 Apr 2017 #4
NRA & Donald Trump, JR MelissaB Apr 2017 #5
And so, the logic of the situation demands that... Eyeball_Kid Apr 2017 #6
Yes! I agree completely. MelissaB Apr 2017 #7
By bet says the money trail is being carefully unraveled. Phoenix61 Apr 2017 #8
21 million Turbineguy Apr 2017 #9
The company you keep, Gun Enthusiasts. The company you keep. (nt) Paladin Apr 2017 #10
Holy crap. If the NRA goes down with Russia too we might have a gun safe America! sharedvalues Apr 2017 #11
Close links? Straw Man Apr 2017 #12
He probably just wanted the lifetime subscription to American Rifleman. bluedigger Apr 2017 #14
No, he probably wanted their imprimatur ... Straw Man Apr 2017 #15
Don't forget to look at it from the other angle. bluedigger Apr 2017 #17
That's a non-angle. Straw Man Apr 2017 #19
I am unsurprised by either of them. n/t GoCubsGo Apr 2017 #13
I remember recently RAchel saying that the Russia scandal is a global thing. Glad to see Amaryllis Apr 2017 #20
+1 uponit7771 Apr 2017 #21
You have been finding some great stuff!!! dixiegrrrrl Apr 2017 #22
 

Jonny Appleseed

(960 posts)
1. The NRA are idiots
Sun Apr 2, 2017, 12:04 PM
Apr 2017

Trump's victory will cost them more than 21 mill in dues. If Hillary won they'd finally have enough money to pass legislation arming teachers.

 

synergie

(1,901 posts)
18. They're good salesmen, their tagets are idiots.
Sun Apr 2, 2017, 03:17 PM
Apr 2017

They have plenty of money and own plenty of congressmen.

fleabiscuit

(4,542 posts)
3. Trump + Russian mobsters + NRA + Trump kid, and $$ - a recipe for evil soup.
Sun Apr 2, 2017, 12:07 PM
Apr 2017

Last edited Sun Apr 2, 2017, 01:14 PM - Edit history (1)

MelissaB

(16,420 posts)
5. NRA & Donald Trump, JR
Sun Apr 2, 2017, 12:13 PM
Apr 2017
In May 2016, in the midst of the US electoral campaign, Torshin traveled once more to the NRA convention, which was celebrated this time in Louisville, Kentucky. Trump, who was by that point the de facto Republican candidate to the presidency, attended the annual event run by his main benefactors. There Torshin had fleeting contact with the future president, who only went so far as to shake his hand. With his son, Donald Trump Jr., things went further: he sat by his side during a private dinner in a restaurant in Kentucky.

The rise of Torshin in the upper circles of the United States continued to progress. When Trump, a self-declared admirer of Putin, reached the presidency, Torshin was invited to an official breakfast at the White House scheduled for February 2, along with other guests. The event was later to be remembered thanks to Trump’s jibes aimed at Arnold Schwarzenegger. Torshin traveled there as the head of a Russian delegation. Together with the invitation, Torshin received a proposal for a meeting with the president just before the breakfast, according to Yahoo News, which contributed to this article. This meeting was suddenly cancelled. The reason, according to sources from the White House, were the rumors and suspicions about which all of Washington is now talking: the links between Trump’s political team and Moscow. The White House gave no official explanation for the cancellation. Maria Butina, who attended gala dinners to celebrate Trump’s inauguration, confirmed to Yahoo News in an email that the notification of the cancellation of the meeting between her boss and the president arrived the night before the breakfast.

Eyeball_Kid

(7,430 posts)
6. And so, the logic of the situation demands that...
Sun Apr 2, 2017, 01:00 PM
Apr 2017

the NRA should be audited to find out whether Torshin laundered money to the Trump campaign through the NRA to enrich the Trump campaign coffers.

It appears that Russian oligarchs specialize in money laundering. That's where investigations should lead.

Turbineguy

(37,317 posts)
9. 21 million
Sun Apr 2, 2017, 02:17 PM
Apr 2017

That's about $175 for every American who will get shot dead during the Trump Administration (assuming it's 4 years...)

sharedvalues

(6,916 posts)
11. Holy crap. If the NRA goes down with Russia too we might have a gun safe America!
Sun Apr 2, 2017, 02:28 PM
Apr 2017

DJT and top GOPers are done for. TrumpRussia will pull them down.

Getting the NRA's evil violence-facilitation to go down in the same scandal seems like a dream too far. But bringing down the NRA will help America be safer. Let's hope.

Straw Man

(6,622 posts)
12. Close links?
Sun Apr 2, 2017, 02:46 PM
Apr 2017

I read the article. The evidence they provide for Torshin's "close links" with the NRA is that he "has managed to become a 'life member'" and that he attended the 2013 convention in Houston.

If you have $1500 to spare, you could be a life member of the NRA too.

https://joinnra.nra.org/join/Life.aspx

Torshin had a lot of company at the Houston NRA convention. Attendance was over 86,000.

http://www.theblaze.com/news/2013/05/06/annual-nra-convention-shatters-previous-attendance-record/

I'm not seeing a conspiracy. Perhaps you/they could dig a little deeper.

OK, now you can call me a "barrel stroker" and a "gun humper." I expect no less.

Straw Man

(6,622 posts)
15. No, he probably wanted their imprimatur ...
Sun Apr 2, 2017, 02:57 PM
Apr 2017

... for the organization he started in Russia, which is almost certainly corrupt as fuck. There is no indication that he got it, but I'm sure he will try to spin it that way to the gullible.

Nyuck, nyuck.

bluedigger

(17,086 posts)
17. Don't forget to look at it from the other angle.
Sun Apr 2, 2017, 03:16 PM
Apr 2017

Why would a God fearing Russian hating organization like the NRA want a Russian member? I'm guessing for a lot more than $1500, but maybe I'm just a skeptic.

Straw Man

(6,622 posts)
19. That's a non-angle.
Sun Apr 2, 2017, 03:28 PM
Apr 2017
Why would a God fearing Russian hating organization like the NRA want a Russian member? I'm guessing for a lot more than $1500, but maybe I'm just a skeptic.

So far, there's no indication that the NRA wants anything from Torshin. They don't screen memberships. If you've got a credit card and a mailing address, you're in. Osama Bin Laden could have joined, as long as he didn't mind a drone strike on whatever address his copy of American Rifleman was delivered to.

Amaryllis

(9,524 posts)
20. I remember recently RAchel saying that the Russia scandal is a global thing. Glad to see
Sun Apr 2, 2017, 09:29 PM
Apr 2017

Bannon associations finally coming out. You know he's in it up to his eyeballs.

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