Not sure where to put this. But Elections will work for now I suppose.
Representatives Ted W. Lieu and Kathleen Rice have asked the FBI Director Christopher Wray to look into possible monies from Russia funneled through the NRA to Trumps campaign. This would be seriously illegal (not that I need to tell the folks of the SDMB that).
I suppose the FBI is gonna need a few new servers and filing cabinets to track the crimes of Trump. May be a bit funny if Trumps crimes takes out the NRA (and I say that as a gun owner).
This is impossible by definition. All you need to do is look at the name of the organization: National Rifle Association.
The National Rifle Association is made up of tens of millions of Americans, and only Americans, who all believe in exactly the same thing: The Constitution of the United States of America. They are united in their understanding of the civic necessity of private firearms ownership, and they would be just as powerful and do exactly the same things if they had no donations at all, because their power does not come from money, but from their absolute heartfelt commitment to the thing they all believe in, and advocate for even without compensation. As a national organization, the NRA has never taken money from foreigners; they don’t need it, and that would be a contradiction in terms. The NRA has not even taken donations from Ugo Beretta nor Gaston Glock, because they haven’t immigrated to the greatest country on Earth and thus aren’t real Americans (although their products, like all firearms no matter their country of origin, definitely are American, and indeed REAL AMERICAN HEROES).
The National Rifle Association is laser-focused on one thing: Rifles. They would never waste their time on other petty political issues. Even though all NRA members agree with one spirit that Ajit Pai is one of the great American patriots of our time, and a true scion of the Minuteman spirit just like his ancestors who fought to remove the English from our shores; the NRA has scrupulously stayed out of FCC politics, because it has nothing to do with the one thing the NRA exists to defend. The NRA certainly would not raise a pinkie finger to elect Donald Trump; he’s not even a shooter!
Other posters will come along to say I am a liar. “Literally nothing in post #2 is true,” they’ll say. Well, what about this paragraph? Gotcha ya!
(Ahem. Yes, post #2 is just mean, mean, sarcastic, blatant lies, in case someone is confused. And I have actually had some clown tell me that the NRA is made up of members who all believe exactly the same thing. I found that absurd, given that a small fundamentalist Christian congregation can’t be expected to all believe exactly the same thing.)
I agree that these allegations sound very serious. Of course, I’m a partisan liberal, and I hate the NRA, so I’m definitely biased. However, I would hope that any organization that participated in illegal campaign financing would face legal consequences. If the NRA was part of the general Russian interference in the election, I hope the Mueller investigation will turn up enough evidence for the feds to prosecute. A separate investigation may not be necessary. Tho, it would be fun to watch the NRA squirm some more.
I agree. And way more serious that the 130g given to Stormy Daniels. Where are Trumps taxes? (we will never know). But was that money taken from campaign funds, or written off as ‘business’ expenses? The IRS frowns on both and both are illegal. You can’t ‘write off’ bribes. Or pay off your hookers with campaign money.
“Who knew that running a criminal organization would be so complicated?”
Perhaps Trump can have Al Capone’s old cell (finally reined in on tax evasion of all things)
Now we are looking at possible millions from Russia>NRA>Trump. Among all the other Russian shenanigans. It fits.
I seriously doubt that letter is telling the FBI anything they don’t already know. Seems more like a “hey look at me” effort on the part of the two Reps.
Also, the letter is a bit misleading when it says monies “from Russia [were possibly] funneled through the NRA to Trump’s campaign” (your paraphrase, but close to what the letter says). More likely, if such monies were funneled, it would be to some PAC that was supportive of the campaign rather than to the actual campaign. The letter says the NRA spent $30M supporting Trump, and if true that would be a staggering campaign finance crime in and of itself since no organization can donate that much to a single presidential candidate. Unless they are talking about bundling efforts by the NRA on behalf of its members.
Yes the FBI probably does already know (they had better). And the Reps want limelight. With the crap that is going on I wouldn’t want to be remembered as the person that just sat on their thumbs. As the entirety of congress seems to be doing.
These types of actions by the Reps. do help bring Trumps possible crimes closer to a public view though. Now, it may not change many minds, or any. But when/if Trump is impeached and prosecuted it is best that the public may remember such actions. And how long Trumps criminal behavior has been known.
If a criminal is hiding in the forest with everything he could possible want, you don’t just set up road blocks. You. Chase. Him. Down.
