The National Rifle Association acted as a "foreign asset" for Russia in the period leading up to the 2016 election, according to a new investigation unveiled Friday by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.

Drawing on contemporaneous emails and private interviews, an 18-month probe by the Senate Finance Committee's Democratic staff 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.

POLITICS 

Maria Butina Says She Was 'Building Peace.' That's Not How The Feds See It

The report, available here, also describes how closely the gun rights group was involved with organizing a 2015 visit by some of its leaders to Moscow. 

Then-NRA vice president Pete Brownell, who would later become NRA president, was enticed to visit Russia with the promise of personal business opportunities — and the NRA covered a portion of the trip's costs.

The conclusions of the Senate investigation could have legal implications for the NRA, Wyden says.

Tax-exempt organizations are barred from using funds for the personal benefit of its officials or for actions significantly outside their stated missions. The revelations in the Senate report raise questions about whether the NRA could face civil penalties or lose its tax-exempt status.

The National Rifle Association called the report "politically motivated," and suggested that the 2015 Moscow trip was not an official NRA trip...

Shame on the NRA! CM

The memo has been released and is very telling. It is no secret why the DOJ and FBI were fighting so hard against its release. I do not see how any national security is in jeopardy because of the memo's release. Instead, it appears that the heads of very high officials at DOJ and FBI are going to roll because of it.

The Russia Investigation should end NOW. It is clear this has all been a political ploy to destroy Donald Trump with no basis in reality or merit or even authenticity.

I hope that Justice is duly served to the people behind this. They should be ashamed for weaponizing the DOJ and FBI in order for their own political ambitions and desires to be advanced.

Nancy Pelosi actually thinks that releasing the memo means the President has surrendered his constitutional rights as Commander In Chief... I think she needs to take a basic civics course...