Posted on 07/02/2018 6:19:15 AM PDT by yesthatjallen
Legal experts say its likely special counsel Robert Mueller secretly gained access to the National Rifle Associations tax returns as part of the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, according to a McClatchy report.
Muellers team is reportedly looking into NRA donors with links to Russia and investigating whether some donors used the organization to illegally funnel foreign money to President Trumps campaign.
The NRA spent $30 million backing Trump in the 2016 presidential election.
NRA officials maintain that the organization has not been contacted by the FBI, but legal experts told McClatchy D.C. that it would be routine for investigators to access the groups tax filings through the Internal Revenue Service.
The tax filings would reveal the NRAs dark money donors, whose names are hidden on public documents.
David Axelrod, an Ohio lawyer who formerly prosecuted cases for the Justice Departments Tax Division, told McClatchy D.C. that prosecutors often request tax filings entirely in the background, with no notice to the subject of the investigation.
Former senior Justice Department official Michael Zeldin told McClatchy that it would be basic blocking and tackling for the prosecutors to seek all relevant tax returns.
Muellers office declined to comment for McClatchys report.
The NRA disclosed in April that it received about $2,500 in contributions from 23 Russia-linked individuals since 2015. McClatchy reported earlier this year that the FBI was looking into whether one of those donors, Alexander Torshin, used the NRA to funnel money to the Trump campaign.
Torshin is a Russian politician and deputy of the country's central bank.
He has ties to former NRA President David Keene and hosted him for a pro-gun conference in Russia.
ETC...
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
So is Mulehead saying that the NRA has to check citizenship before accepting donations?
I wonder if he’ll apply the same scrutiny to the Clinton Foundation...
Awww no. don't even put thoughts like that in my head.
When is Mueller going to open his investigation into IHOb? The International House of Bolsheviks?
Left out “in”, “in donations”.
NRA officials maintain that the organization has not been contacted by the FBI, but legal experts told McClatchy D.C. that it would be routine for investigators to access the groups tax filings through the Internal Revenue Service.No evidence Muellars grasping at NRA straws. But McClatchy sure is.
3 birds with one stone?
A Russian
The NRA
AND Trump.
McClatchy has got to be orgasmic over this wet dream.
NRA got Russian money.
Trump got NRA money.
SO WHAT?
WHAT..!!! I'LL DARE YOU TO INSINUATE THAT HILLERY'S FOUNDATION EVER DID ENYTHING WRONG..!! EVER.!!!
She's as clean as her newly wiped computer...
I have no doubt that one of the purposes of this action was to provide a complete list of NRA members and donors to Clinton, Obama, and Soros. If they ever regain power, punitive IRS audits of our personal and business returns will soon be the least of our worries.
So, how is this even remotely legal, when the NRA is not under a criminal investigation by Mueller?
That’s OK. It helped me get that $34/year/indiuvidual out there. ;^)
23x 2500 = nothing compared to Hillary’s 140 million coming from such people
Witches are suspected of hiding in the NRA? Who knew.
Is this a legitimate story?
NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA POLITICAL VICTORY FUND collected $21 million in 2016 and the donor names are listed.
So what would Mueller find in other tax returns that is not already public?
A few possibilities above.
So Mueller could find this info because he was looking at pre-2019 returns...
More than likely it’s a political witch hunt against the NRA, and Trump supporters.
Their probably looking for campaign violators like D’Nesh D’Souza.
Since they know damn well that the whole Russia thing was a hoax and a cover up for the campaign spying by Obama, Hillary, and their cronies.
Yes...but, then, why did podesta say she smelled of rotten cabbage and farts? I am sooooo confused.
ping - thugs use any excuse to attack conservatives....
For those interested in the NRA's tax returns, it has since 1944 been a non-profit foundation under IRS §501(c)3; as such it files voluminous Forms 990 annually, which are readily seen on GuideStar, etc. Here is the NRA's GuideStar page; click on "Show Forms 990." For example, 2016's return (the most recent yet available) shows the NRA paid Wayne LaPierre $1,422,339.
No, no. Not 2500.00 x 23 people (legall!) to the NRA.
Only 2500.00 TOTAL from 23 DIFFERENT people over 3 years to the NRA.
Compared to 500 MILLIPN to Hillary from the Russians ALONE in just ONE deal in ONE year!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.