The NRA acted as a foreign asset for the Russians during the 2016 election.

Let that sink in: Russian operatives lured NRA insiders to Russia in 2015 with the promise of lucrative personal business deals. In exchange, they were given broad access to our political system in the runup to the 2016 election.

These are the stunning conclusions I came to in my 18-month long investigation as the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee.

They went to Moscow. They met with high-ranking Kremlin officials and Russian oligarchs close to Vladimir Putin. And when they came home, they threw open the doors of the conservative movement for Russian nationals they knew were linked to the Kremlin.

And we all know what happened next: Russia worked to compromise the 2016 election to help elect Donald Trump.

Don't let anyone undersell the importance of these revelations to you.

It's not just that the NRA may have violated tax and sanctions laws: it's lie after terrible lie. It's about getting caught red-handed and then doubling down.

If that sounds familiar, it's because it's exactly what we're seeing with their ally Donald Trump: looking to avoid responsibility at all costs when caught putting our national security at risk.

Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans will look to dismiss it and cover for their political donors at the NRA, but I believe that the facts will win out.

Join me on Facebook. Learn more about what we've found about the NRA and Russia.

Ron