Thread by @timkmak

NEW from me:

The National Rifle Association was a 'foreign asset' to Russia in the period leading up to 2016 election, a Senate report finds.

The 77 page Senate report draws on contemporaneous emails and private interviews

npr.org/2019/09/27/764…

An 18-month probe found that the NRA underwrote political access for Russian nationals Maria Butina and Alexander Torshin more than previously known — even though the two had declared their ties to the Kremlin.

npr.org/2019/09/27/764…

Tax-exempt orgs are barred from using funds for personal benefit of its officials, or for actions significantly outside stated missions.

Senate report raise questions about whether the NRA could face civil penalties or the loss of its tax-exempt status.

npr.org/2019/09/27/764…

In an email later circulated to two senior NRA staff members, Butina wrote that a purpose of the 2015 Moscow trip was that "many powerful figures in the Kremlin are counting on Torshin to prove his American connections" by showing he could bring prominent NRA officials to Russia.

"NRA resources appear to have been used to pay for membership and registration fees to third party events for [Torshin and Butina] as well as to arrange for transit to and lodging for many of those events throughout 2015 and 2016," the report states. npr.org/2019/09/27/764…

NRA staff prepared itineraries, gathered briefing materials, applied for tourist visas, paid for some of the travel expenses, and provided the delegation with NRA gifts to give to Russian officials.

npr.org/2019/09/27/764…

One big takeaway: there's evidence that these two Russian nationals expressly spoke about their ties to the Kremlin -- and despite this the NRA was willing to facilitate their access in US political circles

npr.org/2019/09/27/764…

Senate report on NRA :

1. Butina/Torshin were explicit about Kremlin ties
2. NRA facilitated their networking with US groups
3. NRA helped organize 2015 Moscow trip
4. Members were motivated to attend 2015 NRA Moscow trip by personal commercial dealings

npr.org/2019/09/27/764…

Republican response to Democratic NRA-Russia report: accuses Dems of "much conclusory innuendo" and says that any improper spending by NRA is minor, and would not put NRA tax-exempt status at risk

npr.org/2019/09/27/764…

Gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety responds to the report:

“This is a damning summary of the lengths to which NRA insiders were willing to go in order to enrich themselves”