In the context of ongoing investigations, Sen. Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, wrote to the National Rifle Association earlier this month asking, "Can you categorically state that your organizations have never, wittingly or unwittingly, received any contributions from individuals or entities acting as conduits for foreign entities or interests?"
The NRA said that in fact they do receive foreign money, but not for election purposes.
"While we do receive some contributions from foreign individuals and entities, those contributions are made directly to the NRA for lawful purposes," NRA's General Counsel John C. Frazer wrote to Wyden in a letter obtained by NPR. "Our review of our records has found no foreign donations in connection with a United States election, either directly or through a conduit."
During 2015-2016, Frazer continued, the NRA received money from companies based in the U.S. which may be owned or managed by foreign nationals. "However, none of those entities or individuals is connected with Russia, and none of their contributions were made in connection with U.S. elections," Frazer added.
The NRA's response was not sufficient for Wyden. In a letter dated March 27, the senator demanded that the organization provide a detailed accounting of how foreign funds were used over the past three years, whether they were targeted at particular American audiences, and what its measured impact was.
Wyden also demanded to know whether any Russian nationals or foreign individuals had been members of the NRA's donor programs, and whether the NRA received any money from sanctioned individuals.
While the NRA claims it does not receive foreign money for election purposes, the movement of its money between accounts could make it difficult, if not impossible, to track how the money is spent since it is not isolated or sequestered.
The NRA has a variety of accounts, and the NRA Political Victory Fund is their official political action committee and must report all of its spending to the Federal Election Commission.
It also has other accounts that require less transparency, and do not report spending to the FEC — and in those funds, the NRA told Wyden, they "receive funds from foreign persons only for purposes not connected to elections, as permitted by federal law."
However, the NRA acknowledges that money moves between those accounts: "transfers between accounts are made as permitted by law," the NRA's general counsel wrote.
The NRA did not immediately respond to a request from NPR to disclose the total sum of its donations from foreign sources.
The NRA has been the subject of criticism for its opposition to gun control measures — criticism that has intensified in the wake of shootings at a high school in Parkland, Fla., last month.
The controversy around the NRA and alleged ties to Russia center around one man: Kremlin-linked Russian politician Alexander Torshin. Starting in 2011 Torshin began cultivating ties with the National Rifle Association, establishing relationships with NRA officials, most especially former NRA President David Keene.
Torshin is the man in the middle
Torshin's relationship with the NRA opened the door to his becoming an election observer in during the 2012 U.S. presidential election, at least five years of attendance at NRA conventions, and he even claimed to know Donald Trump through the organization.
"I know D. Trump (through NRA)," Torshin once wrote on Twitter. "A decent person."