apparent shame," he said in an email. "I would've been surprised had prominent Russians NOT attended the inauguration. It was Moscow's victory, after all."In February 2017, Torshin was invited, through his NRA ties, to a national prayer breakfast with the newly-inaugurated President Trump. According to Yahoo News, Torshin was supposed to have a personal meeting with Trump before the event, but his invitation was rescinded after a White House aide spotted his name on the guest list and alerted others to Torshin's alleged illicit activities."He's sort of the conservatives' favorite Russian," Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, who is known for endorsing Russia-friendly positions, told Yahoo News. Rohrabacher and Kentucky Rep. Tom Massie dined with Torshin and other members of Russia's delegation to the prayer breakfast last year."He's someone who understandsBarack Obama faced off against former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney in November 2012, according to The Washington Post. Preston, a conservative lawyer with a long history of doing business in Russia, also introduced Torshin to NRA president David Keene in 2011.Torshin later hinted that his NRA credentials had played a role in his participation in the 2012 election."I was there at Obama's last election!" Torshin tweeted in 2015, according to NPR. "The NRA card, to me as an observer from Russia, opened access to any [polling] station."

This is as good a time as any to remind people that most Americans do not trust Trump to keep the Russians from meddling in the 2018 elections the way they meddled in the 2016 elections. A new poll by Survey Monkey