“You don’t necessarily need an atomic bomb to destroy a nation” – Israelmore Ayivor

By Glen Reaux

The National Rifle Association (NRA), America’s bastion of constitutional gun rights is supposedly the quintessential representation of American patriotism.  Founded in 1871, their logo consists of the American Bald eagle clutching two rifles while flying over a shield made from the American flag.  Today, the combination of their name and logo are meant to inspire a feeling and belief in them that, under their protection, America is safe from all enemies both foreign and domestic.  Such a noble organization, that would like for you to think of them as today’s Minutemen, can better be described by George C. Parker who added this quote to the American lexicon; “If you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you.”  George C. Parker was an infamous conman known for his many successful attempts to sell the Brooklyn Bridge.  He was convicted on December 17, 1928, sentenced to a mandatory life term and died in prison.  Oh, if only America could be so lucky when dealing with the NRA, an organization that should appropriately change its name to “Putin’s Bagman”, since Putin Uses the National Rifle Association to Buy Republicans In Congress.

The truly patriotic Minutemen were ready at a minute’s notice and fought to defeat the English enemy during the Revolutionary War (1775-1783). Unlike the Minutemen, the NRA which should now be affectionately known as “Putin’s Bagman”, at a minute’s notice, conspired with the Russian enemy to overthrow our government and elect the Manchurian Candidate Donald J. Trump to the presidency of the United States.  During the Revolutionary War, such an act was considered treasonous and all conspirators would have been put to death.  Does the NRA deserve less?  Is there a death penalty case for Putin’s Bagman?  A careful examination of the evidence will provide the answer.

In the December 6, 2018, Maria Butina Plea Agreement¹ the 30-year-old Siberian born redhead pleaded guilty to conspiring with U.S. Person #1 an American citizen and a Russian Government Official and at least one other person to act under the direction of the Russian official without notifying the Secretary of State.  Although un-named, evidence is provided in the plea agreement that Aleksandr Torshin who has served as Deputy General of the Russian State Central Bank (VTP Bank) since 2015, is the Russian Official that Butina reports to.  Prior to coming to America on a student visa, Butina worked as a Special Assistant to Torshin.  In another document, An Application for Criminal Complaint For Maria Butina², evidence is provided proving that Butina conspired with another American referred to as U.S. Person #2.  The then unindicted American co-conspirator, U.S. Person #2 is believed by investigators to be Paul Erickson, Butina’s live-in boyfriend and a Republican/NRA booster.  During Court proceedings, prosecutors name Erickson and one of the two Americans involved with Butina in the conspiracy.  On February 6, 2019, he was charged with defrauding investors in South Dakota by pitching them healthcare opportunities.

The Plot to influence the 2016 American National elections began in 2013 when Butina met with U.S. Person #1 in Russia and in March 2015, the two agreed to conspire against the United States as evidenced in the Statement of Facts which is a section of the Statement of Offense attachment to the Maria Butina Plea Agreement.

U.S. Person #1 over the course of their initial communications provided Butina with lists of media professionals, influential business people, politicians and candidates that would be interested in listening to her.  From 2013-2016, Butina met with many of the people on the lists.  During this time period, the results of these encounters were reported to Torshin.  Her reports detailed successful meetings with the leadership of a Gun Lobby group that was the leading contributor to congressional candidates, the amount of influence that the organization had over politicians in a particular political party and her successful meetings with politicians and leaders of that party.  That party is identified in Special Counsel Mueller court fillings as Political Party #1.  Butina’s reports also included an assessment that the candidate for Political Party #1 would win the 2016 Presidential election and that important business people, media personalities and politicians of said party were open to working with Russia to make that happen.  She also stated that, the Gun Lobby was a major sponsor of CPAC.  Although the NRA is not named in court filings, the NRA is the only Gun Lobby group that matches all of these characteristics.   On page 15 of the “Maria Butina Plea Agreement”¹, it is reported that Butina was introduced to influential members of Political Party #1, one of whom announced his candidacy for the Presidency of the United States, thereafter.  Butina also arranged a December 2015 trip to Moscow for influential members of the Gun Lobby group.  These members met with High-Ranking Russian Government Officials.

Listed below is a series of events detailing the Butina/NRA conspiracy as presented in the document, An Application for Criminal Complaint For Maria Butina. The pages listed are the page numbers of the linked pdf file of the official government documents.

1. Page 9 Section 7 – Met U.S. Person #1 in 2013 –worked to establish contacts with NRA
2. Page 9 Section 8 U.S. Person #2 – 2016-17 emails helped Butina and set dinner dates Butina told U.S. Person #2 that Russian officials were very impressed
3. Page 10 Section 13 – Butina and Russian official worked with American politicians to establish back-channel communications
4. Page 11 Section 16 – tasked with meeting politicians and candidates thru Gun Lobby group report back to Moscow thru Official
5. Page 11 Section 18 – March 24, 2015, Butina emailed person #1 a proposal, “Project Description Diplomacy”
6. Page 12 Sections 18 & 19 – Political Party #1 likely to win the election and has strong ties to gun lobby.  Gun lobby largest sponsor of US elections to Congress and is sponsor of CPAC & other events, Butina request budget of $125K to attend Party #1 conferences and events, Butina report included a description of meeting Leader of Political Party #1 as a Representative of informal diplomacy of the Russian Federation.
7. Late March 2015, U.S. Person #1 emailed a document titled Plan Forward, provided Butina with list of political, media and business contacts interested in meeting with her off-book as representative of Russia
8. Page 15 Section 22 – Butina discusses Officials invitation to Gun Lobby for Russian trip.

In furtherance of their conspiracy, U.S. Person #1 and Butina drafted the “Description of the Democracy Project”, their pan detailing their proposed illegal activities in the United States.  Butina presented the plan to Torshin and others including members of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).  Butina requested $125, 000 for the purpose of attending the meeting and other events outlined in the proposal as necessary for success.  She was informed that she would be supported at least in part.

The NRA aka Putin’s Bagman operates a complicated web of IRS 501 class not-for-profit organizations that are used to influence our government.  This web includes the NRA Institute for Legislative Action, The National Rifle Association PAC and the Illinois State Rifle Association.  One of these organizations is not required to list its donors.  Donations made by anonymous donors are called dark money contributions and foreign governments such as Russia make dark money contributions to influence our government.  According to a nonpartisan group, Center for Responsive Politics Report³, in the 2016 national election, the NRA spent $52,582,309 in support of Republican Candidates and they were 94% successful.  These expenses include $30 million in Support of Donald Trump’s campaign, triple the amount that was spent in 2012 on Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

In “Dark Money Illuminated⁴”, a report published by the election watchdog group Issue One, Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings show that the NRA spent $58 million between January 2010 and December 2016.  But, when Issue One performed a more detailed investigation which is included in Dark Money Illuminated and did not rely on FEC filings, it was discovered that from 37 donors, the NRA aka Putin’s Bagman has received a shocking total of $145,422,955 from dark money sources.  The NRA received its contributions through its nonprofit and is not required by law to report its donor’s names but must fill out tax returns declaring their income.  The diagram below details how Putin’s Bagman used its money to influence the 2016 national election.  A list of Republican politicians that received money, including the amount and the House of Congress that they serve in is included.  The diagram includes a hypothetical follow-the-money illustration of how and where the Russian money came from.  This includes the names of probable suspects and convicted felons in this crime of conspiracy based upon the court documents used in this article.

Click to download pdf –>Putins NRA Bagman Diagram

Further proof of Putin’s Bagman influence over the Republican Party in the form of political contributions can be found in an unrelated New York Times November 6, 2017, article titled Thoughts and Prayers for Texas, N.R.A. Funding for Washington⁵.  Data from this article which is supported by FEC information is used in the above diagram.

While it may be hard to believe that an American institution such as Putin’s Bagman could participate in so egregious an act, a thorough look at its officers will reveal savory characters.  Oliver North, President of the NRA is a Republican and retired U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel.  Colonel North is a convicted felon that became infamous for his role in the 1980s Iran Contra Affair that plagued the Reagan administration.  The Iran Contra Affair involved a conspiracy and the use of illicit funds to pay off General Manuel Noriega of Panama for his help in destroying Nicaraguan economic installations.  North was indicted on 16 felony counts and tried in 1988.  On May 4, 1989, he was convicted of three of the 16 counts: accepting an illegal gratuity, aiding and abetting in the obstruction of a congressional inquiry, and ordering the destruction of documents.  He was on July 5, 1989, to a three-year suspended prison term, two years probation, $150,000 in fines, and 1,200 hours of community service.  In 1990, his convictions were vacated on a technicality.  But, that does not erase the fact that he betrayed his country while an active duty soldier serving in a National Security capacity.

The Putin Bagman CEO, Wayne LaPierre, Jr. is a very controversial figure and no boy scout. In a contemptuous 1995, fundraising letter, LaPierre described federal agents as “jack-booted government thugs” who wear “Nazi bucket helmets and black storm trooper uniforms to attack law-abiding citizens.  Less than one week after the February 14, 2018, Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting in a February 22^nd speech before the conservative CPAC conference, LaPierre criticized the FBI and gun control advocates.  In his speech, he stated, “As usual, the opportunists wasted not one second to exploit tragedy for political gain. The elites do not care one whit about America’s school system and schoolchildren. If they truly cared, what they would do is they would protect them. For them it is not a safety issue, it is a political issue … Gun control advocates don’t care if their laws work or not. They just want get more laws to get more control over people. But the NRA, the NRA does care.”  His lack of remorse for the victims and families of one of the worst school shootings in history is a testament to the glaring flaws in his character.

As evidenced by the documents presented these are the facts:

1. Maria Butina successfully infiltrated the NRA
2. Butina has pleaded guilty and been convicted
3. The NRA welcomed Butina and Torshin, Deputy Governor of the Russian Central Bank with open arms
4. NRA officials met with the Deputy Governor of the Central Russian Bank Aleksandr Torshin and other High Ranking Officials of the Russian Government during the December 215 trip to Russia
5. Butina and Torshin met with leaders of the Republican Party including an individual who thereafter announced his candidacy for the Presidency of the United States
6. The NRA has a convicted felon for its president which speaks to the character of the organization.
7. NRA CEO, Wayne LaPierre Jr. is of questionable character at best
8. Putin’s Bagman has contributed more than $71 million in dark money to Republican campaigns
9. Putin’s Bagman has contributed $30 million to Donald Trump’s campaign
10. Putin’s Bagman is under FBI investigation for funneling Russian money into the 2016 national elections and convicted felon Maris Butina is cooperating with the investigation

While a federal indictment and trial have not yet happened, “If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, there’s no doubt about it, it’s a duck!”  Judging from its actions, the NRA is not Minutemen.  And, unlike the Minutemen, at a minute’s notice, they sold out America to the enemy.  During the Revolutionary War, such acts were considered treasonous and all conspirators would have been put to death.  Does the NRA deserve less? No, they don’t deserve less!  Is there a death penalty case for Putin’s Bagman?  “The proof is in the pudding” and this bowl of Russian, NRA, Republican conspiracy is huge, thick and very nasty.  There is a ton of evidence to prove that, for the “GREATER GOOD” and America’s safety, the NRA, Putin’s Bagman must be put to death.

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Linked Sources and Documentation

1. Maria Butina Plea Agreement, pdf – Maria Butina Plea Agreement
2. An Application for Complaint for Maria Butina, pdf – An Application for Criminal Complaint For Maria Butina
3. Center for Responsive Politics (opensecrets.org) – https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/detail.php?cmte=National%20Rifle%20Assn&cycle=2016
4. Dark Money Illuminated, pdf– Dark-Money-Illuminated-Report
5. 5. New York Times article data for Putin’s NRA Bagman Chart – https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/11/06/opinion/nra-funding-prayers-texas.html?rref=collection%2Fbyline%2Fian-prasad-philbrick&action=click&contentCollection=undefined&region=stream&module=inline&version=latest&contentPlacement=9&pgtype=collection

Copyright © 2019, Glen Reaux, all rights reserved