Congress opens investigation into ex-gun lobbyist's role in lifting ban on international silencer sales

On Tuesday, The New York Timesreported that House Democrats are opening an investigation into a White House lawyer and former gun lobbyist, for his potential role in the Trump administration's decision to lift a ban on selling silencers to overseas buyers.

"Democrats are focusing in part on the involvement of Michael B. Williams, a White House lawyer who had worked for two years for a trade group representing silencer manufacturers that had lobbied to overturn the ban," reported Ken Vogel. "The administration lifted the ban this month, paving the way for as much as $250 million a year in possible new foreign sales for companies that Mr. Williams had championed as general counsel of the American Suppressor Association."

"Representative Stephen F. Lynch, Democrat of Massachusetts and chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee’s subcommittee on national security issues, sent a letter Tuesday to the White House budget office requesting documents related to the move, and Mr. Williams’s role in pushing it," continued the report.

Silencers, also known as suppressors, are devices that reduce the volume and flash of a gunshot, as well as dull recoil and improve accuracy. They are heavily regulated in the United States, and pro-gun advocates argue that they should be more readily available to protect the hearing of hunters and sportsmen. The State Department banned U.S. companies from selling silencers abroad in 2002, for fear they could facilitate ambushes against U.S. troops in Afghanistan.