NPR has translated six years of tweets by a Kremlin-linked politician who is under FBI investigation for possibly funneling money to Donald Trump's campaign through the NRA, and on November 7, 2015, that Russian – Alexander Torshin – tweeted he knows Trump personally.
On his verified Twitter account, Torshin talked about how he knew 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 he defended him.
(...)
Translation of November 2015 tweet: "A comedian should make people laugh! Right? So he is trying! I know D. Trump (through NRA). A decent person."
"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 in 2017 denied to Bloomberg News that Trump has ever met Torshin.
In addition to the FBI, Senate and House investigators are interested in knowing more about the NRA's Russia ties. While the gun lobby denies any wrongdoing, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee and a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, wants any information the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has on Torshin and the NRA.
House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Adam Schiff (D-CA) also has been asking witnesses questions about the NRA.
"I can't go into what we've been able to learn thus far on that issue. I can tell you it's one of deep concern to me and to other members of the committee, that we get to the bottom of these allegations that the Russians may have sought to funnel money through the NRA," Schiff said. "It would be negligent of us not to investigate."
Full story: Depth Of Russian Politician's Cultivation Of NRA Ties Revealed (NPR)
Related: The Tale of Alexander Torshin