Bringing Dark Money to a Gunfight: The NRA and Other Groups Are Increasingly Using Untraceable Dollars to Influence Our Elections

Authors Alex Tausanovitch and Diana Pilipenko discuss the unsettling trend of the National Rifle Association and other outside groups not reporting where their money is coming from, potentially allowing lobbyists and foreign agents to influence elections.

Media Contact

Sam Hananel

Senior Director, Media Relations

[email protected]

Government Affairs

Peter Gordon

Director, Federal Affairs

[email protected]

Jerry Parshall

Senior Director, Safety and Justice Campaign; Director, State and Local Government Affairs

[email protected]

On Monday, the Justice Department charged Maria Butina, a Russian national closely linked to both the NRA and the Kremlin, with conspiracy to act as an unregistered foreign agent. For years, Butina and Alexander Torshin, the sanctioned deputy chairman of the Russian Central Bank, have cultivated close ties with the gun lobby in an effort to advance the Russian government’s agenda.

An FBI affidavit supporting the complaint quoted an unnamed American saying that he helped secure “a VERY private line of communication between the Kremlin” and Republican Party leaders. He added that “of all conduits” for that communication, he was referring to a gun rights organization — from context, almost certainly the NRA.

The above excerpt was originally published in New York Daily News. Click here to view the full article.

The positions of American Progress, and our policy experts, are independent, and the findings and conclusions presented are those of American Progress alone. A full list of supporters is available here. American Progress would like to acknowledge the many generous supporters who make our work possible.