Muellers Probe Is Dangerously Close to a Republican Red Line

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/01/donald-trump-robert-mueller-nra

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According to McClatchy D.C., the F.B.I. is investigating whether a top Russian banker with close ties to President Vladimir Putin illegally channeled money through the N.R.A. to bolster Trump’s bid for the White House. The revelation that the special prosecutor might target the gun lobby, arguably the most influential and sacrosanct faction of the Republican Party, could embolden G.O.P. lawmakers to bring a swift end to the Trump-Russia probe and hasten a Mueller ouster. (The N.R.A. did not immediately respond to the outlet’s request for comment.)

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It is unclear when Mueller’s team opened its inquiry, what stage the investigation has reached, or to what extent the F.B.I. can substantiate the money trail. But of the $55 million the N.R.A. spent on the 2016 election, a staggering $30 million was shelled out to the Trump campaign—three times the amount it spent on Mitt Romney in 2012, McClatchy reports.

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As The New York Times reported in December, Erickson sent a May 2016 e-mail to Trump campaign adviser Rick Dearborn with the subject line “Kremlin Connection.” In the e-mail, Erickson reportedly asked Dearborn, and then Senator Jeff Sessions, for advice in setting up a meeting between Trump and Putin and sought to use the annual N.R.A. convention in Kentucky that year to make “first contact.” (Erickson could not be reached by the Times for comment.) While Erickson did not explicitly name Torshin, sources familiar with the situation who spoke to the Times said that the message appeared to refer to the Russian banker.