Democratic lawmakers demand answers to the ANR about the trip to Moscow in 2015 and alleged links with Russia

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The letter, dated Friday, is addressed to NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre and is signed by Democratic representatives, Ted Lieu of California, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, and Kathleen Rice of New York. , member of the Homeland Security committee.

This is not the first time that ANR has been the subject of scrutiny by Democratic legislators.

Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon has sent numerous requests to the organization asking for information on his finances. And earlier this month, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Rep. Jamie Raskin, both Democrats, sent a letter to ANR asking for information on donations made by the group to the Trump presidential campaign and to GOP Convention candidates.

If House Democrats – who now hold the majority in the lower house of Congress – decide to use their subpoena power to target the NRA, this could create another headache for the defense group gun rights.

In response to a request for comments on Lieu and Rice's letter, William A. Brewer III, who acts as the NRA's board, told CNN that the organization "had not yet received the letter "but had the intention of" responding to all requests. " appropriate information requests. "

"Although ANR has not yet received the letter, the Association will naturally respond to all appropriate inquiries," said Brewer, partner at Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors and ANR's advice, in a statement. "ANR is working diligently to provide information in response to several requests for information and will continue to do so."

Lieu and Rice write in their letter that they are "increasingly alarmed" by what they describe as "the complex network of relationships between individuals associated with the NRA and highly influential Russian officials" and state that it is "imperative that the Congress has an understanding" of Russia's efforts to influence the US elections.

ABC News was the first to report on the letter.

2015 trip to Moscow

The letter asks several questions about a trip to Moscow in 2015 that was attended by NRA donors.

The 2015 trip was orchestrated by David Keene, former president of the ANR, and Maria Butina, a Russian who pleaded guilty in federal court in December for conspiring as a foreign agent. As part of her advocacy, she admitted to attempting to infiltrate Republican political circles and to influence relations between the United States and Russia before and after the 2016 presidential election.

The agenda included events with Alexander Torshin, a Russian government official who was later sanctioned by the US Treasury Department, as well as by former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who had already been sanctioned by the US government.

Butina worked closely with Keene and his wife to organize the trip to Moscow in 2015. Keene used her NRA e-mail address to make the necessary arrangements, as did another NRA staffer named Nicholas Perrine, according to the letters. obtained by CNN.

Participants in 2015 included Keene, Dr. Arnold Goldschlager, a NRA donor; Joe Gregory, a major fundraiser for the NRA; Jim Liberatore, President and CEO of Outdoor Channel; Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr., who was an important substitute for Trump during the campaign; and Pete Brownell, who will later be president of the NRA.

Goldschlager described the visit to Moscow in 2015 as an "interpersonal mission" in an interview with McClatchy last year and said: "The trip exceeded my expectations in logarithmic terms".

The letter asks: "What expenses did ARN pay for the December 2015 trip to Moscow?" and "Have NRA officials communicated with Torshin, Butina or other people related to Russia about efforts to interfere and influence the presidential election? 2016 in the United States? "

He also asked: "Has the ANR facilitated meetings or communications between the Trump campaign partners and Torshin or any other person related to Russia?"

The NRA tried to stand out from the trip. In a statement to CNN earlier this month, Brewer said LaPierre was "personally opposed" to the trip when he discovered the details of the visit.

"When he became aware of the details of the trip, Wayne personally opposed it," Brewer told CNN, adding, "In order for the group not to be perceived as representing the ANR, Wayne spoke to several people about the trip, so Mr. Cors agreed not to travel, and NRA staff members who were in Israel (for a trip that preceded visit to Russia) returned home. "Cors was president of the NRA at the time of the trip.

But CNN confirmed that NRA officials seemed to play an important role in planning the trip.

At least one ANR employee helped Butina organize the trip of the delegation to Moscow. At one point, the NRA employee even asked if it should be listed as the organization that was paying the rating of some NRA affiliate participants, according to emails obtained by CNN.

The letter refers to recent press articles on the origins of the 2015 trip: "Recent reports suggest that the NRA was actually involved, for example, e-mails reviewed by journalists suggest that the NRA has covered the costs of some delegates and NRA employees worked with Butina and other Russian nationals to organize their trip. "

Lieu and Rice write: "We are disturbed by the lack of transparency demonstrated by the ANR regarding the trip to Moscow in December 2015".

More questions about the finances of the ARN and Russia

The letter asks about the finances of the gun rights group, including: "How much money did the ANR receive from Russia or from people or entities related to Russia during the electoral cycle of 2016? "

Lieu and Rice also ask: "Did ANR use any of this money in its contributions to the 2016 election campaign?" and "Have NRA officials discussed money laundering or the channeling of money from Russia to the NRA?"

After asking if foreign funds could have been channeled through the group to reinforce the Trump campaign, the NRA insisted that she was not using foreign funds for electoral purposes, but acknowledged that she was accepting money from foreign donors.

Wyden asked the NRA, who had supported Trump in the 2016 election and spent millions of dollars to support his candidacy, in March if she can "categorically declare" that "your organizations have never received, unknowingly or unconsciously, contributions from individuals or entities as directed for foreign entities or interests? "

NRA secretary and general counsel John Frazer said in a mid-March response that the NRA was struggling to ensure that foreign nationals' money was not injected into political spending. .

"Although we receive certain contributions from individuals and foreign entities, these contributions are paid directly to the ANR for lawful purposes," wrote Frazer. "Our review of our records did not reveal any foreign donations in connection with an election in the United States, either directly or through an intermediary."

Although it is not illegal for the NRA to accept contributions from foreign donors, the group would break the law if this money was used for election campaigning purposes. The NRA political action committee, the NRA Political Victory Fund, is required to report its expenses to the Federal Election Commission, but the group hosts a number of other unrelated accounts. by such transparency.

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