Administration’s Lifting of Ban on Silencer Sales Shines Light on Trump Adviser Who Used to Work for Gun Lobby

On Friday, the Trump administration overturned a ban on the sale of silencers and suppressors to non-government foreign entities. The change is yet another indication of the sway that industry lobbyists have on President Donald Trump’s decisions, and a potential sign of the influence of one White House adviser in particular — Michael Williams, who used to work for the suppressor industry.

Williams entered the administration in January 2017 as an official in the Office of Management and Budget, and was named deputy assistant to the president in April 2019. Prior to joining the Trump campaign in 2016, Williams had worked for the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the American Suppressor Association, where his brother, Knox Williams, is now the president and executive director. Records obtained by American Oversight, reported on by the New York Times in its Monday story on the suppressor rule change, show Michael Williams being invited to meet with gun lobbyists just after the Parkland school shooting, and prior reporting by Vice indicated that the two brothers were also in close contact about gun issues.

The rule preventing sales of suppressors to foreign non-government entities had been created to help prevent terrorist or organized crime groups from obtaining such equipment to kill U.S. troops. The American Suppressor Association lobbies against regulations on silencers, and Williams worked as the organization’s top lawyer for two years before making his way to the Trump campaign.

According to the calendar records American Oversight got through a Freedom of Information Act request, Williams was invited to participate in calls with a number of gun industry representatives soon after the Feb. 14, 2018, shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., which left 17 dead, including 14 students, and ignited a student-led movement for gun control.

According to the New York Times, Lawrence Keane, general counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), one of the groups on the calls, said Williams had not attended the meetings and had been invited in error, but that his group had communicated with Williams about the State Department’s silencer policy and other Second Amendment-related issues. 

The calls, which took place on Feb. 27, March 2, and March 8, include a number of industry organizations, such as NSSF, Vista Outdoor, gun manufacturer Sig Sauer, and various lobbying firms. An agenda for the March 8 call mentions various states (including Florida) and the “Fix NICS” bill (NICS refers to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System).

At various points in Trump’s presidency, including after the Parkland shooting, and after the August 2019 shootings in El Paso and Dayton, observers have speculated that the administration might take action on gun control, such as stronger background checks, for which there has been long-standing bipartisan support.

But Trump never moved forward with any gun control reforms, caving time and again to the demands of the gun industry and its powerful lobby. His professions of “draining the swamp” have long been exposed as a campaign ruse. Last week’s New York Times story on the lobbyists running his re-election campaign provides yet another example. As Michael LaForgia and Kenneth Vogel wrote on Monday in the Times, Williams’ role in pushing to overturn the silencer ban “follows a well-established pattern in the Trump administration, with the president handing over policymaking to allies of special interest groups with a stake in those policies.”

“It is exceedingly difficult to square this rule change with America’s national interest,” said Austin Evers, American Oversight’s executive director. “Ensuring the United States can operate as a middleman for gun manufacturers to get silencers into the hands of foreign armed groups is the kind of action that can only be explained by the extraordinary level of access and control special interests have in this administration.”

American Oversight has been examining the influence of the gun industry and other lobbying groups across the administration. Track all of our investigations into influence and access here.

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December 13, 2019

News Roundup: Stephen Miller’s Extremist Network

Congress, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, Department of the Interior, Department of the Treasury, DHS - Immigration and Customs Enforcement, DOI - Bureau of Land Management, DOI - Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Environmental Protection Agency, Georgia - Carroll County, Texas Attorney General, Treasury - Office of Foreign Assets Control, White House - Office of Management and Budget
December 12, 2019

American Oversight Sues for Treasury Communications About Russian Investment in Kentucky Plant

Department of the Treasury, Treasury - Office of Foreign Assets Control
November 22, 2019

News Roundup: Fiona Hill’s Warnings, Nikki Haley’s Emails, and Matt Bevin’s Stay at Trump’s Hotel

Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Department of State, DHS - Immigration and Customs Enforcement, DOJ - Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, Kentucky Office of the Governor
November 1, 2019

News Roundup: Impeachment Votes and Sonny Perdue’s Georgia Connections

Department of Agriculture, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Department of State, Department of the Interior, DHS - Immigration and Customs Enforcement, DOI - National Park Service
October 30, 2019

New Lawsuit: Secretary Perdue’s Ties to Georgia Industry Groups

Department of Agriculture
August 9, 2019

News Roundup: Investigating the Administration’s Response to Domestic Terrorism

Department of Homeland Security, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Justice, Department of State, Department of the Interior, DHS - Immigration and Customs Enforcement, DHS - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, DHS - U.S. Customs and Border Protection, DOJ - Federal Bureau of Investigation, Federal Housing Finance Agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, White House - Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
August 8, 2019

New Lawsuit in Investigation of Trump Administration’s Cuts to Funding for Combating Domestic Terrorism

Department of Homeland Security
February 22, 2019

News Roundup: Wilbur Ross’ Uncertified Financial Disclosures

December 12, 2018

Audit the Wall: No Plans, Funding or Timeline — And No Wall

Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, DHS - U.S. Customs and Border Protection
June 6, 2018

USTR Emails Reveal Tensions, Inconsistencies in Trump Administration’s NAFTA Strategy

White House - Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
December 20, 2017

American Oversight Expands Investigation into Tax Bill

Department of the Treasury, White House - Office of Management and Budget
November 30, 2017

New FOIAs Seek Treasury Department’s Secret Tax Bill Analyisis

Department of the Treasury
November 3, 2017

American Oversight Launches ‘NAFTA Watch’

Department of Commerce, White House - Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
October 31, 2017

American Oversight Sues State Department for Records Showing Efforts to Compel Mexico to Pay for Border Wall

Department of State
July 19, 2017

American Oversight Demands Answers about Outsourcing of Carrier Jobs

Department of Commerce, Department of the Treasury, White House - Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
July 11, 2017

Investigation of Trump Administration Actions and the AT&T-Time Warner Merger

Department of Justice
June 16, 2017

Watchdog Group Files Lawsuit for Trump Border Wall Records

Department of Homeland Security, Department of the Interior, DHS - U.S. Customs and Border Protection, White House - Office of Management and Budget
March 24, 2017

American Oversight Launches Investigation of President Trump’s Border Wall

Department of Homeland Security
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