A top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee has requested documents from the Treasury Department as well as the National Rifle Association detailing any financial dealings between Russia and the NRA.
It was revealed last month that the FBI is investigating contact between the deputy governor of Russia’s central bank, a man by the name of Alexander Torshin, and the NRA. Torshin is also a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The FBI is reportedly looking into whether Torshin, who is a lifetime NRA member contributed to an arm of the NRA that is not required to disclose its donors. Something Wyden alluded to in a letter to the gun-rights group.
“I am specifically troubled by the possibility that Russian-backed shell companies or intermediaries may have circumvented laws designed to prohibit foreign meddling in our elections,” Wyden wrote.
It is illegal to use donations from foreign entities for political activities.
Wyden is a member of one of three congressional committees conducting investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.