G. Kline Preston IV

<font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font><div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">----</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">tenn free press</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/opinion/times/story/2018/jul/30/sohn-nras-russilink-hties-blackburn/475893/">https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/opinion/times/story/2018/jul/30/sohn-nras-russilink-hties-blackburn/475893/</a></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tennesseans know the old truism: If you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The universal meaning is simple: Be careful of the company you keep.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ask Republican U.S. Rep. <b>Marsha Blackburn.</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Since March, she has been reading more and more headlines and stories that link her<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);"> longtime friend and former campaign president, attorney G. Kline Preston IV, to the NRA/Maria Butina Russian money and election meddling questions.</span></b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The Tennessean has reported that in addition to representing Blackburn on campaign finance questions, Preston has claimed&nbsp;</font><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">Alexander Torshin</font><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">&nbsp;as a Russian client and longtime friend. Torshin is the prominent Russian politician with close ties to President Vladimir Putin who is now under scrutiny for illegally channeling Russian funds through the National Rifle Association in an effort to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election. According to the Tennessean, Preston first introduced Torshin to then-president of the NRA David Keene in 2011, and the pair attended the NRA's annual convention in Nashville in 2015.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">Blackburn, a U.S. House of Representatives member since 2002 and now a Tennessee Senate candidate seeking Bob Corker's open seat, is a longtime NRA supporter and recipient of at least $34,700 in NRA donations</span>, according to opensecrets.com, which tracks campaign donations. According to the Washington Post, Blackburn received the most NRA money since 2002 of any Tennessee Congress member.&nbsp;<b>As in most campaign finance snapshots, that total listed for her includes only donations, not any possible expenditures by the NRA to oppose her challengers.</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">But by widening the lens, the NRA money picture gets a bit darker. The NRA spent $30 million on Trump's campaign in 2016 and another $40 million in various efforts to lobby and help elect Republicans, according to a recent New Republic report.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Now the arrest of Maria Butina, an alleged Russia spy who is said to have infiltrated the National Rifle Association, has turned up the heat on the NRA, Preston and Blackburn. Butina's indictment charging her with conspiring to influence American politics means further scrutiny into the NRA and its money trail. Although that investigation seems now primarily to be focused on the 2016 presidential election, the probe's fallout already is complicating the campaigns of Trump-clinging Republicans such as Blackburn, who also took NRA money and continues to court the NRA's support.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>A spokeswoman for Blackburn in March declined to answer specific Tennessean questions about Preston's work for the campaign or his relationship with Blackburn or her family members</b>. The Tennessean, however, quoted a very general statement from the campaign: "Congressman Blackburn believes Russia is not our friend — and thinks we need to treat Russia like any bully: we need to be strong enough to prevent them from pushing the United States and our allies around, and we need to draw firm lines and show them that America is not to be trifled with."<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">[vote 3x ~ cyber security for elections?!]</span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">After Vice President Mike Pence appeared at a Chattanooga fundraiser for Blackburn last weekend, the Tennessee Democratic Party raised new questions, as reported by WRCB:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>"Going back to her 2007 meeting with Russian diplomat Igor Matveev, Marsha Blackburn has a more than decade-long history of meeting with Russian nationals on Tennessee soil.</b>&nbsp;<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">In 2012, she met with accused spy master Alexander Torshin when he visited Williamson County — her home county — as an election observer, squired by her former campaign president, attorney, and friend <b>G. Kline Preston IV</b>. Blackburn's actions speak much louder than her words," said Democratic Party spokesman Mark Brown.</span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Blackburn spokeswoman Abbi Sigler responded to WRCB: "Marsha never had a meeting with the second individual," according to WRCB.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On Monday, Washington Post conservative columnist Jennifer Rubin, who avidly opposes Donald Trump, quoted from the Tennessean story and wrote that "Republicans who were chummy with Russia-connected figures" are about to become an issue in Tennessee's U.S. Senate race.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>"Blackburn spent last week furiously trying to distance herself from Trump's Helsinki comments," Rubin wrote. "But if the issue comes down to who will hold Trump accountable on Russia and take oversight of Russia's far-flung influence racket seriously, Blackburn will find herself playing defense."</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Rubin noted that recurrent mass shootings and NRA rants have reminded Americans that the organization "has become a refuge for conspiracy theories and far-right extremism. Now the Russia story and the Butina indictment raise the question of why the GOP is in bed with a group the Russians allegedly used to meddle with our elections — and whether money Republicans took is tainted by the NRA's Russia connection."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Blackburn's campaign did not respond Friday to a Times editorial page editor's request for a more timely and specific comment. However, on Sunday, the campaign sent us the same statement we noted here earlier — the one she gave to the Tennessean last March.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/inside-the-decade-long-russian-campaign-to-infiltrate-the-nra-and-help-elect-trump-630054/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/inside-the-decade-long-russian-campaign-to-infiltrate-the-nra-and-help-elect-trump-630054/</a></font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><p times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; padding: 0px 0px 0.9375rem;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">November 2013, the president of the National Rifle Association, David Keene, was introduced as an honored guest at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tj-ceQb9Ao" target="blank" rel="noopener nofollow" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 600; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative;">conference of the Right to Bear Arms</a>, a gun lobby in Moscow. “There are no peoples that are more alike than Americans and Russians,” Keene said. “We’re hunters. We’re shooters. We value the same kinds of things.” Keene underscored his friendship with Alexander Torshin, a top politician in the ruling party of Vladimir Putin; for the past three years, Keene said, “I’ve hosted your senator Alexander Torshin at the National Rifle Association’s annual meetings.” In words that now carry a darker connotation, Keene insisted, “We need to work together.”</font></p><div class="admz" id="adm-inline-article-ad-1" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><div class="adma google-publisher" data-device="Desktop" data-width="300" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><div class="pmc-adm-goog-pub-div ad-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><p times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px; text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; padding: 0.9375rem 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>Torshin</b>, now 64, is a roly-poly politician, perhaps five feet six, with thick glasses and a passion for borscht – “like medicine!” he once&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/torshin_ru/status/769518269162283008" target="blank" rel="noopener nofollow" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 600; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative;">tweeted</a>. A member of Putin’s right-wing United&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/t/russia/" id="auto-tag_russia" data-tag="russia" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 600; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative;">Russia</a>&nbsp;party, he served in the Russian senate for more than a decade,&nbsp;<b>forging close ties to Russia’s internal security service, the FSB</b>, which awarded him a&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/torshin_ru/status/750717261112049665" target="blank" rel="noopener nofollow" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 600; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative;">medal</a>&nbsp;in 2016. His embrace of Keene, says Steven Hall, who served as chief of Russian operations for the CIA until 2015, was about more than forging “an international brotherhood of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/t/nra/" id="auto-tag_nra" data-tag="nra" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 600; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative;">NRA</a>.”</font></p><p times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px; text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; padding: 0.9375rem 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>As part of Putin’s “active measures,” Hall says, Russia has attempted to influence right-wing and populist factions abroad, preaching unity around social conservatism:</b>&nbsp;“‘We’re both religious-based countries – we have the Orthodox Church that’s a big deal for us.’ ” The Russians, Hall believes, “made a natural transition in the United States to the NRA”; over time Putin became determined to exploit the American gun lobby “and decided Mr. Torshin is going to be the guy to do it for him.”</font></p><p times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px; text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; padding: 0.9375rem 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Keene proved an easy mark.&nbsp;</b><a href="https://soprweb.senate.gov/index.cfm?event=processSearchCriteria" target="blank" rel="noopener nofollow" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 600; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative;">A career lobbyist</a>&nbsp;who advised presidential candidates from Ronald Reagan to Mitt Romney, he was a longtime chair of the American Conservative Union, which organizes the annual CPAC convention. NRA board member Grover Norquist has praised Keene as “<a href="https://www.newsmax.com/RonaldKessler/DavidKeene-NRA-ACU-CPAC/2011/03/28/id/390893/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 600; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative;">a conservative Forrest Gump</a>” who’s been at “the center of all things conservative for decades.” Keene, with a sweep of white hair, owlish glasses and a patrician bearing, might move in cutthroat political circles, but friends say his personality runs against type. “He’s like a teddy bear,” says&nbsp;<b><i>Alan Gottlieb</i></b>, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, who has known Keene for decades. “He’s not hard-edged at all. He’s a gentleman.” (Keene did not respond to multiple interview requests.)</font></p><div class="admz" id="adm-inline-article-ad-2" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><div class="adma google-publisher" data-device="Desktop" data-width="300" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><div class="pmc-adm-goog-pub-div ad-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><div id="gpt-dsk-tab-inbody2-uid1" class="ad-rotatable adw-300 adh-250" data-google-query-id="CKKQ4uKLs9wCFYQJgQodkSoKMg" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><div id="google_ads_iframe_3782/rstone.site/politics/article/inbody2_0container" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0pt none;"><p times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px; text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; padding: 0.9375rem 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Torshin and Keene forged a quick friendship. “Just a brief note to let you know just how much I enjoyed meeting in Pittsburgh during the NRA annual meeting,” Keene wrote in a 2011 letter later obtained by anti-corruption activists in Russia. Extending a personal invitation to the following year’s event, Keene added, “If there is anything any of us can do to help you in your endeavors . . . please don’t hesitate to let us know.”</font></p><div class="l-article-contentpull l-article-contentpull--left" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; margin: 1.375rem 1.375rem 1.375rem calc(-14.2857% - 0.6875rem); max-width: 11.875rem; float: left;"><div class="c-related" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);"><h4 class="c-relatedheading t-bold t-bold--upper" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; margin: 0px; padding: 0.4375rem 0px 0.5rem; display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: flex-start; text-transform: uppercase; line-height: 1; border-top: 0.3125rem solid rgb(211, 37, 49);"><font size="4" style="text-align: left;"><font face="Times New Roman">RELATED</font></font></h4><a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/a-key-russian-figure-with-connections-to-trump-and-the-nra-faces-sanctions-628836/" class="c-relatedlink" style="text-decoration-line: none; 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transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative; display: block; align-items: center; padding: 0px;" /><a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/a-key-russian-figure-with-connections-to-trump-and-the-nra-faces-sanctions-628836/" class="c-relatedlink" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative; display: block; align-items: center; padding: 0px;"><img width="900" height="600" src="https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/torshin-russia-nra-76870d6b-0761-5d4c-b421-86a1df6e06ea.jpg?crop=900:600&width=900" data-src="https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/torshin-russia-nra-76870d6b-0761-5d4c-b421-86a1df6e06ea.jpg?crop=900:600&width=900" class="c-cropimg wp-post-image visible" alt="Alexander Torshin NRA" style="border-width: 0px; text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; height: calc(100% + 0.125rem); max-width: calc(100% + 0.125rem); transition: opacity 0.3s; opacity: 1; object-fit: cover; position: absolute; top: 62.4844px; left: 95px; width: calc(100% + 0.125rem); transform: translate(-50%, -50%);" /></a></div></div><h5 class="c-relatedcaption t-bold" style="text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; margin: 0px; padding: 1.125rem 0.625rem; position: relative; line-height: 1;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A Key Russian Figure with Connections to Trump and the NRA Faces Sanctions</font></h5><a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/russiagates-second-smoking-gun-129451/" class="c-relatedlink" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative; 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box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative; display: block; align-items: center; padding: 0px;" /><a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/russiagates-second-smoking-gun-129451/" class="c-relatedlink" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative; display: block; align-items: center; padding: 0px;" /><a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/russiagates-second-smoking-gun-129451/" class="c-relatedlink" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative; display: block; align-items: center; padding: 0px;" /><a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/russiagates-second-smoking-gun-129451/" class="c-relatedlink" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative; display: block; align-items: center; padding: 0px;" /><a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/russiagates-second-smoking-gun-129451/" class="c-relatedlink" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative; display: block; align-items: center; padding: 0px;" /><a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/russiagates-second-smoking-gun-129451/" class="c-relatedlink" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative; display: block; align-items: center; padding: 0px;" /><a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/russiagates-second-smoking-gun-129451/" class="c-relatedlink" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative; display: block; align-items: center; padding: 0px;" /><a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/russiagates-second-smoking-gun-129451/" class="c-relatedlink" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative; display: block; align-items: center; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Russiagate’s Second Smoking Gun</font></a></h5></div></div><p times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px; text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; padding: 0.9375rem 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Torshin’s “endeavors” included a plan to back a gun-rights group in Moscow. “We will start organizing our own Russian NRA,” Torshin soon&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/torshin_ru/status/175081877638623232" target="blank" rel="noopener nofollow" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 600; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative;">tweeted</a>. The NRA president seemed flattered, seeing Torshin as a powerful Russian eager to build a gun organization that mirrored his own, and even secured a Russian translation of the NRA charter.</font></p><p times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px; text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; padding: 0.9375rem 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But Russia experts believe Torshin’s interest in U.S. gun culture masked a dark, ulterior motive. “It’s all a big charade, basically,” Glenn Simpson, founder of the research firm behind the infamous Steele Dossier, testified to the House Intelligence Committee. Much of what passes for civil society in modern Russia is, in fact, controlled by Putin<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee published a January 2018 report on “Putin’s Asymmetric Assault on Democracy,” which describes how the Kremlin has “sought to co-opt civil society by ‘devot[ing] massive resources to the creation and activities of state-sponsored and state-controlled NGOs.”</span></font></p><p times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px; text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; padding: 0.9375rem 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Some of these faux grassroots groups buttress the Kremlin’s domestic agenda. Others are projections of Putin’s foreign policy.<b>&nbsp;Sen. Ben Cardin, the ranking Democrat on the committee</b>, says it is common for Russian groups that “appear to be independent” but are “really Putin groups” to build relationships with civic groups in Western democracies, like the NRA – “to have tentacles,” Cardin says, “to try and influence public opinion here in the United States. It is certainly part of Putin’s MO.”</font></p><p times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px; text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; padding: 0.9375rem 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Hall agrees.&nbsp;<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">“The idea of private gun ownership is anathema to Putin,” he says. “So then the question is, ‘Why?’ ” Why was a pro-gun campaign being hatched by a leader in Putin’s own party? The answer, according to Hall, is that Putin was baiting a trap. “He’s reaching out to attract the NRA, specifically, over to Russia.”</span></font></p><div class="admz" id="adm-inline-article-ad-x-8" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><div class="adma google-publisher" data-device="Desktop" data-width="300" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><div class="pmc-adm-goog-pub-div ad-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><div id="gpt-dsk-tab-inbodyX-uid2" class="ad-rotatable adw-300 adh-250" data-google-query-id="CLCQ4uKLs9wCFYQJgQodkSoKMg" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><div id="google_ads_iframe_3782/rstone.site/politics/article/inbodyX_12container" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0pt none;"><p times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px; text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; padding: 0.9375rem 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The FBI is now investigating whether Torshin, the current deputy governor of the Russian central bank, illegally funneled cash to the NRA to support the election of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/t/donald-trump/" id="auto-tag_donald-trump" data-tag="donald-trump" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 600; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative;">Donald Trump</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article195231139.html" target="blank" rel="noopener nofollow" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 600; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative;">according to a report by McClatchy</a>&nbsp;that has sparked a probe by the Federal Elections Commission. Moscow’s NRA connections have also become&nbsp;<a href="http://docs.house.gov/meetings/IG/IG00/20180118/106796/HMTG-115-IG00-20180118-SD002.pdf" target="blank" rel="noopener nofollow" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 600; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative;">a focus of House and Senate Russia investigators</a>. In his House testimony, made public in January, Simpson pointed to “Russian banker-slash-Duma-member-slash-Mafia-leader” Torshin and his “suspicious” protégé, a young gun activist named Maria Butina. “It appears the Russians,” Simpson said, “infiltrated the NRA.”</font></p><p class="" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px; text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; padding: 0.9375rem 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>The NRA spent an unprecedented $30 million to install Trump in the White House.</b>&nbsp;Putin has a long track record of illegally financing nationalist opposition groups in the West. If the Kremlin’s NRA outreach culminated in pumping vast sums into the group’s coffers, America’s lax campaign-finance regulations would have posed no obstacle. “There are so many ways that a group like the NRA could be used to channel Russian money into a race, it’s shocking,” says Robert Maguire, who investigates “dark money” for the Center for Responsive Politics. In a letter to Congress, the<b>&nbsp;NRA has denied wrongdoing; it has not denied accepting Russian money.</b></font></p><p class="" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px; text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; padding: 0.9375rem 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The notion that the flag-waving NRA of Eddie Eagle has allied itself with the Russian bear, and the government of former KGB colonel Vladimir Putin, can be hard to fathom. But an investigation by&nbsp;<i style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">Rolling Stone</i>&nbsp;establishes deeper ties between the NRA and Russia than previously reported. The record reveals this union was the product of a sophisticated Russian influence campaign nearly a decade in the making. By November 2016, Torshin greeted Trump’s election victory as a foregone conclusion, specifically pointing to his and the president-elect’s joint connection to the NRA. “This striking personality has fascinated me for a long time,” he&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/torshin_ru/status/803646401913569280" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 600; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative;">tweeted</a>, in Russian. “Was sure of his victory.”</font></p><p class="" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px; text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; padding: 0.9375rem 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-weight: 700;">By Torshin’s own account,</span>&nbsp;his affiliation with the American gun lobby began around&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/torshin_ru/status/800373887007682560" target="blank" rel="noopener nofollow" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 600; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative;">2010</a>, when he became a member of the NRA. His passion for firearms is genuine; Torshin counted Gen. Mikhail Kalashnikov, the inventor of the AK-47, as a friend, and has tweeted, “I love guns.” Nearly as soon as Torshin joined the NRA, he began targeting the gun lobby’s leadership, leaning on a friend, a Nashville lawyer named&nbsp;<b>G. Kline Preston IV</b>. “I’ve probably known him 10 years,” Preston says of Torshin. “He’s one of the finest people I know. He’s a very capable,<b> intelligent, honest man, a very devout Orthodox Christian, very serious about his faith.”</b></font></p><div class="admz" id="adm-inline-article-ad-x-12" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><div class="adma google-publisher" data-device="Desktop" data-width="300" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><div class="pmc-adm-goog-pub-div ad-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><div id="gpt-dsk-tab-inbodyX-uid3" class="ad-rotatable adw-300 adh-250" data-google-query-id="CK-Q4uKLs9wCFYQJgQodkSoKMg" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><div id="google_ads_iframe_3782/rstone.site/politics/article/inbodyX_11container" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0pt none;"><p class="" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px; text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; padding: 0.9375rem 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Preston is a jovial Russophile. He studied abroad in Soviet Leningrad in the late Eighties on his way to an undergraduate degree in Russian language and literature. He has moonlighted as a vodka importer and a trader on the post-Soviet stock exchange. In 2006, Preston opened a sister law office in St. Petersburg, where his practice areas included “lobbying members of government bodies in the United States and the Russian Federation.” Torshin met Preston through mutual Russian contacts, and <b>he invited the lawyer to speak to the Russian senate in 2009. “I’m very pro-Putin, honestly,” Preston says in a rich Southern drawl. “He’s been fantastic for Russia.”</b></font></p><p times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px; text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; padding: 0.9375rem 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">A campaign banner from Putin’s 2012 election hangs in Preston’s Nashville office, also decorated with Russian nesting dolls of the Trump family.<b> Preston believes Russia shares the values of the American South, but his own views are reactionary.</b> He calls the Civil War “<a href="https://twitter.com/gittinpaid/status/324152456235843584" target="blank" rel="noopener nofollow" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 600; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative;">the War for Southern Independence</a>“; the Confederate Constitution “<a href="https://twitter.com/search?l=&q=constitution%20from%3Agittinpaid&src=typd" target="blank" rel="noopener nofollow" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 600; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative;">an improvement</a>“; and has <b>blasted Lincoln as “a terrorist and a<a href="https://twitter.com/search?l=&q=lincoln%20from%3Agittinpaid&src=typd" target="blank" rel="noopener nofollow" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative;">&nbsp;war criminal</a>!” In 2013, he posted a meme on Twitter of Barack Obama looking unmanly in comparison to the buff, shirtless Russian leader. Preston wrote, “As long as U.S. is electing foreign-born presidents, I propose</b>&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/gittinpaid/status/376380144425762817" target="blank" rel="noopener nofollow" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 600; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative;">Vladimir [Vladimirovich] Putin</a>.”</font></p><p class="" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px; text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; padding: 0.9375rem 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Nashville lawyer saw nothing odd about his Russian friend’s desire to meet the NRA president: “Torshin is a gun enthusiast,” he says. And although Preston attends the annual NRA meetings, he didn’t know Keene personally. “I just called him out of the blue,” Preston says. “I told him, ‘Hey, I got a friend who is interested in the NRA, gun rights, that kind of stuff. <b>Happens to be a Russian senator.’ ”</b></font></p><p times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px; text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; padding: 0.9375rem 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The NRA welcomed the outreach. “Russia’s essentially a gun-free zone since Bolsheviks took power,” Preston explains. (Rifles and shotguns are commonly owned; handguns are tightly restricted.)</span>&nbsp;“You have Russian politicians and other citizens working to change that. Senator Torshin is one of those people.” He adds, “The obvious place to look, to see a successful gun-rights organization, is the United States and the NRA.”</font></p><div class="admz" id="adm-inline-article-ad-x-17" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><div class="adma google-publisher" data-device="Desktop" data-width="300" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><div class="pmc-adm-goog-pub-div ad-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><div id="gpt-dsk-tab-inbodyX-uid4" class="ad-rotatable adw-300 adh-250" data-google-query-id="CK6Q4uKLs9wCFYQJgQodkSoKMg" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><div id="google_ads_iframe_3782/rstone.site/politics/article/inbodyX_10container_" style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0pt none;"><p times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px; text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; padding: 0.9375rem 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Speaking on the phone from Tennessee and Moscow, where he traveled in March to act as an observer of the presidential election of Putin – which independent monitors have called “a sham” –</b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>&nbsp;Preston flatly denies that his Russian friends were meddling in the U.S. election. “These allegations are laughable,</b>” he says. “I have no knowledge of it, never saw any indications. It’s a red herring, man. Like when we were kids, they sent us on snipe hunts – a bird that doesn’t exist.”</span></font></p><p class="" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px; text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; padding: 0.9375rem 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But as early as 2012, when Torshin attended the&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/torshin_ru/status/231461112036601856" target="blank" rel="noopener nofollow" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 600; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative;">NRA convention as a “VIP” guest of “the NRA President</a>,” his fascination with U.S. gun culture was twinned with an interest in presidential politics. That November, he was in Nashville as an observer of the contest between Obama and Romney. “I set that up,” says Preston, but Torshin’s bona fides with the rifle association smoothed his path:&nbsp;<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>“My NRA card,” he boasted on Twitter, “opened the doors to any polling stations for me.” Torshin&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/torshin_ru/status/795269106341646341" target="blank" rel="noopener nofollow" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative;">inspected</a>&nbsp;electronic voting machines and election queues.</b>&nbsp;Spotting posters of Obama hanging in one precinct – a violation of election norms – “Torshin, I think, snapped pictures and sent them to Moscow immediately,” Preston recalls.</span></font></p><p class="" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px; text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; padding: 0.9375rem 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Torshin also traveled to D.C., making two intriguing stops: one at the headquarters of the NRA, the other at the residence of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/russiagates-second-smoking-gun-129451/" target="blank" rel="noopener nofollow" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 600; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative;">Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the United States</a>&nbsp;whose frequent contacts with Trump campaign figures have raised red flags with investigators.</font></p><p class="" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 0px; text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; padding: 0.9375rem 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Over the next year, Torshin’s access and influence in the NRA continued to grow. At the 2013 convention in Houston, Gottlieb recalls, Torshin was presented with the gift of a rifle. “3 thousand delegates of the NRA Congress, greeted me with an ovation!” Torshin&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/torshin_ru/status/330139798117425152" target="blank" rel="noopener nofollow" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 600; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative;">tweeted</a>. He also snapped photos of a ceremony for the “Golden Ring of Freedom,” the NRA’s high society for million-dollar lifetime donors, many of them gun executives. The group breaks bread in golden dinner jackets with elaborate crests embroidered on the breast pockets. They ring a replica of the Liberty Bell.</font></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">O<span times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px">utside the NRA bubble, however, senator Torshin was becoming infamous. Spanish authorities reportedly sought to arrest him at a 2013 birthday party for Alexander Romanov, a member of the Russian Taganskaya mob, now serving</span><span times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px">&nbsp;</span><a href="http://www.abc.es/espana/abci-rico-ruso-y-exconvicto-igual-blanqueador-capitales-mafia-201605150529_noticia.html" target="blank" rel="noopener nofollow" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 600; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative;">prison time&nbsp;</a><span times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px">for laundering money through real estate on the Spanish island of Mallorca. According to judicial</span><span times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px">&nbsp;</span><a href="https://elpais.com/elpais/2017/03/31/inenglish/1490984556_409827.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 600; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative;">documents reviewed by&nbsp;<i style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">El Pais</i>,</a><span times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px">&nbsp;</span><span times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px">Romanov referred to Torshin as “boss” and “godfather” on intercepted phone calls; Spain suspected Torshin had laundered 14 million euros through the purchase of a hotel on the island.</span></font></div><p times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="margin: 0px; text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; padding: 0.9375rem 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The birthday sting was foiled when Torshin didn’t show up to the island. Charges were never filed. “Calling on Russia to arrest him would have been useless because Russia does not cooperate,” a judicial source told El Pais. In a statement to the paper, Torshin denied any wrongdoing, insisting he’d never done business with Romanov or owned Spanish real estate. Torshin has acknowledged only social connections to the mobster; for example, he is the godfather of Romanov’s teenage son. (Torshin did not respond to interview requests.)</font></p><p times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="margin: 0px; text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; padding: 0.9375rem 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">...</font></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">preston torshin russia</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/russia-elections-nra-observer-e7cfe4816869/">https://thinkprogress.org/russia-elections-nra-observer-e7cfe4816869/</a></font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Here’s what we know about the American lawyer tying Russia to the NRA</b></font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bit by bit, we're learning more about the NRA's connections in Russia.</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CASEY MICHEL</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MAR 20, 2018, 2:12 PM</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Kline Preston introduced Alexander Torshin to the NRA—and praised Putin's recent reelection. CREDIT: YOUTUBE /&nbsp; TG33</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">KLINE PRESTON INTRODUCED ALEXANDER TORSHIN TO THE NRA—AND PRAISED PUTIN'S RECENT REELECTION. CREDIT: YOUTUBE / TG33</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The National Rifle Association (NRA) might not want to answer any questions about its ties to Russia. But a series of reports over the past few days provide new insight into how the gun lobby first became acquainted with Alexander Torshin — a Russian operative accused of massive money laundering — and how Torshin helped build up a series of bizarre ties between Moscow and the NRA.</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On Tuesday, The Tennessean reported that the NRA first met Torshin through the help of a Nashville-based lawyer named Kline Preston. According to the report, Preston considers Torshin a “longtime friend,” despite the latter’s close links to the Kremlin and Russian officials sanctioned by the United States.</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2011, Preston connected Torshin with David Keene, former president of the NRA — and a member of the NRA’s notorious 2015 trip to Moscow — due to Torshin’s “strong interest in gun rights.” In 2015, Torshin joined Keene and Preston at the NRA convention, and even “enjoyed an evening at an Alan Jackson concert, Preston said.”</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A photo shared by Russian Deputy PM Dmitry Rogozin (right), then under U.S. sanctions, which appears to show him standing alongside the NRA's Joe Gregory, Pete Brownell, and David Keene in Moscow in Dec. 2015. (CREDIT: TWITTER)</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The NRA tried to dodge questions about its ties to Russia, but Congress isn’t done yet</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Preston told The Tennessean that any allegations that Torshin helped funnel Russian money to the NRA in the hopes of supporting Donald Trump’s campaign were “probably false.” Preston — whose Twitter feed is saturated with Russian propaganda outlets and numerous conspiracy theorists — also claimed that Torshin was “not anti-American in any way.”</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kline Preston</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">@gittinpaid</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;As long as US is electing foreign-born presidents, I propose Vladimir Vladimirivich Putin.&nbsp;</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">9:23 AM - Sep 7, 2013</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">See Kline Preston's other Tweets</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Twitter Ads info and privacy</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kline Preston</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">@gittinpaid</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;Putin sets example for U.S. in crackdown on foreign funding of NGOs. Foreign influences must be prevented! ???????&nbsp; ???????? ????????????!</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">1:59 PM - Mar 29, 2013</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">See Kline Preston's other Tweets</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Twitter Ads info and privacy</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kline Preston</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">@gittinpaid</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;@AlanCullison Your latest hit piece on Russia lacks integrity. US observers said last 3 elections were fair and free!</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>2:04 AM - Nov 6, 2016</b></font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>See Kline Preston's other Tweets</b></font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>However, Preston may not the best judge of character — or political realities. Over the past week, Preston traveled throughout Russia to act as an “independent” international observer for Russia’s most recent sham election, which saw Putin effectively crowned for another six years.</b></font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The election was neither free nor fair, with rampant ballot-stuffing and carousel voting — to say nothing of blocking leading opposition figure Alexei Navalny from running — marring the election results.</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Someday, Russia will have a free and fair election. CREDIT: GETTY / MIKHAIL SVETLOV</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Meet the latest critic of Russia’s sham election: Edward Snowden</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">But that didn’t matter to Preston. According to Russian state media<b>, Preston saw the election as “honest, open, and trustworthy,” adding that “Putin’s crushing victory is a clear sign of trust in his policy and leadership.”</b></font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">In another video, Preston claimed that he “didn’t see any complaints” from voters.</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">While observing the Russian elections — and helping whitewash Putin’s regime — isn’t, on its face, illegal, RIA Novosti also reported that Preston observed “elections” in <b>Crimea</b>, which remains occupied by Russia. While in Crimea, Preston proclaimed that “<b>Crimea is yours… Crimea was, is, and will be Russian.”</b></font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">It’s also worth noting, as The Tennessean found, that Preston appears close with Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who is also one of his clients. Preston told The Tennessean that he was “close” to Blackburn, and that they’d been “family friends” for a “long time.”</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></p></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2018/03/20/russia-nashville-lawyer-marsha-blackburn/431448002/</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">no link pix doc</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Nashville lawyer who introduced Russian operative to the NRA has ties to Blackburn</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Anita Wadhwani and Joel Ebert, The Tennessean Published 5:00 a.m. CT March 20, 2018</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">A defunct Twitter account masquerading as the Tennessee Republican Party is highlighted in a new federal indictment Michael Schwab</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Laywer G. Kline Preston IV at his office in Nashville, TN, on April 26, 2017.Buy Photo</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Amid ongoing probes into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, one Nashville attorney is gaining notice for his relationship to a Russian banker with Kremlin ties.</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">G. Kline Preston, IV, a graduate of the Nashville School of Law, has authored books about Russian regulations, and has represented clients in Russia, Ukraine, Canada, Cuba and England.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Russian President Vladimir Putin rolled to a crushing re-election victory Sunday. He told cheering supporters that "we are bound for success." Putin faced seven minor candidates. His strongest opponent was barred from running. (March 19) AP</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Among Preston's Russian clients and longtime friends is Alexander Torshin, a prominent Russian politician who has close ties to President Vladimir Putin. Torshin is under scrutiny for illegally channeling Russian funds to the National Rifle Association in an effort to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Preston first introduced Torshin to then-president of the NRA David Keene in 2011 and the pair attended the NRA's annual convention in Nashville in 2015.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mementos from various trips to Russia decorate theBuy Photo</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mementos from various trips to Russia decorate the office of G. Kline Preston IV. (Photo: Kyle Dean Reinford / For The Tennessean)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Among Preston's U.S. clients: Republican Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn and her son-in-law, Paul Ketchel, a Nashville healthcare entrepreneur.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2005, Preston represented Blackburn when she was facing allegations of possible campaign finance violations. He also provided legal services to her campaign in 2007, according to federal filings.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">More from The Tennessean</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Subscribe</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Preston's wife, Tiffany, worked for the Blackburn campaign, earning $25,100 between 2004 and 2006 for administrative work, according records filed with the Federal Election Commission.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A spokeswoman for Blackburn, a Brentwood Republican, declined to answer specific questions about Preston's work for the campaign or his relationship with her or her family members, instead issuing a statement that said:&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Congressman Blackburn believes Russia is not our friend - and thinks we need to treat Russia like any bully: we need to be strong enough to prevent them from pushing the United States and our allies around, and we need to draw firm lines and show them that America is not to be trifled with."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In a telephone interview from Moscow, where Preston served as an independent observer of their national elections on Sunday, Preston told the USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee his relationship with Blackburn was "close."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"We're family friends," he said Friday. "Long time. My spouse is friends with the Congresswoman and her daughter."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Preston, 51, said he remains a supporter of Blackburn, who is running for the U.S. Senate. Between 2002 to 2006, Preston contributed $2,800 to the Blackburn campaign, according to FEC records.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ties to Torshin</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Preston's relationship with Torshin has been highlighted in recent weeks as both the FBI and Democratic senators began probing Torshin's relationship with the NRA. Torshin is a lifetime member.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Preston told the USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee that he and Torshin have also been close - friends for at least a decade. The two share a strong interest in gun rights.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">When Torshin came to Nashville to attend the 2015 NRA convention, the pair enjoyed an evening at an Alan Jackson concert, Preston said.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Preston said he provided legal advice on Russian law to Torshin, a former member of the Russian parliament, including ongoing work on crafting gun legislation that Preston described as "the right to bear arms for personal protections in Russia."&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Preston called the allegations that Torshin tried to influence the U.S. election by funneling campaign funding through the NRA "probably false."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Senator Torshin had and has a legitimate interest in the NRA and he's not anti-American in any way," Preston said. "He was a member even when Obama was elected last time."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But Preston declined to say whether he has discussed the allegations with Torshin.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"I'm not going to discuss any conversations I've had with Senator Torshin, because he's a client," he said.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Preston also dismissed the suggestion that Russians interfered in U.S. elections, calling it "a witch hunt." President Donald Trump has also called it a witch hunt.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Torshin has been to Nashville on at least one other occasion.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">In 2012, Preston invited Torshin to serve as an international observer at the national general election in Nashville.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The Washington Post reported that Preston said he and Torshin observed violations of U.S. election law, including pro-Obama signs posted too close to a polling place.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Preston served as an international observer of the 2011 legislative elections in Russia. that led to mass street protests over electoral irregularities. Preston told a Russian television interviewer the voting system was "impressive" and "very well organized."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Both Preston and Torshin are prolific Twitter users. Preston's Twitter feed, under the name @gittinpaid, is populated by retweets from the Marsha Blackburn campaign, photos of Russian President Vladmir Putin and anniversaries in the history of the Southern Confederacy. He frequently posts stories in Russian media about President Donald Trump.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On Nov. 10, 2016 he tweeted in Russian: "Donald Trump has won and now the relationship between Russia and America will be great!! Goodbye Witch Hillary!!"</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kline Preston</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">@gittinpaid</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;??????? ????? ??????? ? ?????? ????????? ????? ??????? ? ???????? ????? ????????!! ?? ???????? ?????? ???????!!</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">7:43 AM - Nov 10, 2016</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">See Kline Preston's other Tweets</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Twitter Ads info and privacy</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Twitter translation: Donald Trump has won and now the relationship between Russia and America will be great!! Goodbye Witch Hillary!!</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">His tweets also includes frequent, and sometimes cryptic, exchanges with Torshin.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On May 25, 2015 Preston tweeted two punctuation marks - a comma and an exclamation point, separated by a space.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Torshin responded in Russian "Who as, and I understood correctly."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In August, 2015, Preston tweeted a picture of Trump speaking at the National Federation of Republican Assemblies in Nashville, writing in Russian: "Donald Trump today in Nashville. He is a friend of Russia."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">View image on Twitter</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">View image on Twitter</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kline Preston</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">@gittinpaid</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">11:40 AM - Aug 29, 2015</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">1</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">See Kline Preston's other Tweets</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Twitter Ads info and privacy</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Twitter translation: Donald Trump today in Nashville. He is a friend of Russia.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In the USA TODAY TENNESSEE - Network interview, Preston said he introduced Torshin to David Keene, the former NRA head because of Torshin's longstanding interest in gun rights.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;"He was interested in the NRA so I hooked him up." Preston said. "He wanted to learn from the best and that's the NRA when it comes to gun rights."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The pair also attended the 2015 NRA convention in Nashville together, but Preston said he did not know whether Torshin met Trump at the convention.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"He may have," Preston said. "Trump shook hands with a lot of people."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Work on the Blackburn campaign</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Preston's law firm, the Kline Preston Law Group, represented the Blackburn campaign in 2005 during an investigation into possible campaign finance violations.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The case was settled with Blackburn admitting to "inadvertent violation of FEC" law and the payment of a $1,500 penalty.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">From 2005 to 2007, Blackburn's campaign committee paid Preston and his law firm $9,740.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2004, Blackburn also paid Tiffany Preston a total of $4,100 in six payments for "administrative" or "salary." From 2005 to 2006 the campaign committee also made 32 payments to Tiffany Preston, totaling $22,700 for "administrative consulting."&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Preston's firm also represented MDSave, a Brentwood healthcare startup founded by Blackburn's son-in-law, Paul Ketchel. Blackburn's son, Chad Blackburn, served as vice president for business development for MDSave from 2012-2014, according to his LinkedIn profile.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Preston said he was not currently providing legal services to MDSave.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"There's nothing going on right now," he said.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Russian business connections</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In the 1990s, Preston was part owner of a company that imported Kievskaya Rus vodka from Ukraine. At one point, Toys R Us balked at the vodka name, saying the word "Rus" could lead to confusion and dilution of the chain store's name.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">At the time, Preston's company — Preston Skahan and Smith International — owned a seat on the Russian Stock and Commodity Exchange and was involved with connecting Nashvillians with Russian and Ukrainian investment opportunities.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Preston, an Atlanta native, is also listed as the registered agent for dozens of businesses over the years including a Nashville-based company named The Russian Language Foundation.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">After receiving a law degree from Nashville School of Law, Preston passed the bar exam in 1995 and began practicing. He sued the federal government after his grandfather and other East Tennesseans lost access to their homes. The case was later dismissed.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Then in 1998, Preston took out ads in the Tennessean offering information about adopting Ukrainian children.&nbsp;&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In recent years, Preston has represented clients in Davidson County for various charges including murder, drug possession and money laundering.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Since 2009, Preston has penned several books, including the Art of Gittin' Paid, which offers financial advice to boost one's income, six books on Russian law and one about on the 2011 Russian legislative elections.</font></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">==</font></div></div></div>