New York State Attorney General Letitia James this morning announced that her office is seeking to close down the National Rifle Association (NRA) and force four of its present or former officials to make restitution for millions of dollars they allegedly took from the organization for their own benefit.
Cited as one of the precedents for seeking to dissolve the NRA was the successful forced dissolution of the Trump Foundation as part of a settlement of charges that the foundation’s assets were diverted to personally benefit Donald Trump.
“I just heard about that. That’s a very terrible thing that just happened,” Trump said. “I think the NRA should move to Texas and lead a very good and beautiful life. And I’ve told them that for a long time. I think they should move to Texas. Texas would be a great place or to another state of their choosing. But I would say that Texas would be a great place and an appropriate place for the NRA. This has been going on for a long time,” Trump said, even though the lawsuit was filed just today.
“They’ve been absolutely decimated by the cost of that lawsuit,” Trump said, which would not be possible since the lawsuit had been filed in Supreme Court of the State of New York only a few minutes before Attorney General James made today’s announcement.
While the NRA is chartered as a nonprofit in New York state, its headquarters are in Fairfax, Virginia.
The 164-page lawsuit filed by James names the NRA and four individuals defendants. First is Wayne LaPierre, the longtime executive vice president who James described as “the face of the NRA for decades.”
Wilson “Woody” Phillips, former treasurer and chief financial officer also is named, along with Joshua Powell, former chief of staff and executive director of operations, and John Frazer, the corporate secretary and general counsel.
James said at a news conference that the NRA was formed under the nonprofit laws of the state of New York and the donors who have contributed to the NRA because they believe in its mission have been harmed because four individuals looted the organization’s assets and use them to benefit themselves and their families.
“These funds were in addition to millions of dollars the four individual defendants were already receiving in grossly excessive salaries and bonuses that were baseless and did not adhere to prudent standards for evaluating and determining compensation as is required by law,” James said.
James said her lawsuit contains 18 separate causes for action, including filing false reports with her office and the IRS, improper expense documentation and improper wage reporting. She said the lawsuit seeks to bar the four named defendants from ever again serving on the board of a nonprofit in New York state.
“The National Rifle Association or the NRA is the largest and most influential pro-gun organization in the nation. Since its founding in 1871, the NRA has been a registered not-for-profit charitable corporation in the state of New York,” James said.
“The organization went unchecked for decades while top executives funneled millions into their own pockets. For years, the NRA diverted millions and millions of dollars away from its charitable mission for personal use by senior leadership, to award contracts for the financial gain of close associates and families and appeared to dole out lucrative no-show contracts to former employees in order to buy their silence and continued loyalty,” she said.
When asked whether some of the NRA funds were improperly diverted into political campaigns, James said that the investigation is ongoing. She said that the investigation into the misuse of NRA funds began in 2019.
James also alleged that the advertising firm Ackerman McQueen of Oklahoma City was involved in the misuse of organization funds.
“Today we send a strong and loud message that no one is above the law, not even the NRA, one of the most powerful organizations in this country,” James said.
Responding to the lawsuit in a tweet, NRA President Carolyn Meadows said: “This was a baseless, premeditated attack on our organization and the Second Amendment freedoms it fights to defend.
“You could have set your watch by it: the investigation was going to reach its crescendo as we move into the 2020 election cycle. It’s a transparent attempt to score political points and attack the leading voice in opposition to the leftist agenda. This has been a power grab by a political opportunist – a desperate move that is part of a rank political vendetta. Our members won’t be intimidated or bullied in their defense of political and constitutional freedom. As evidenced by the lawsuit filed by the NRA today against the NY AG, we not only will not shrink from this fight – we will confront it and prevail.”
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said:
“The NRA is rotten to the core – and this legal action will hasten its disintegration. For years, the NRA has been crumbling from within – rife with fraud, abuse, and misconduct. Responsible gun owners should be outraged that this organization has claimed to represent their interests while, instead, executives personally profit from their donations and work against reforms the majority of its membership supports.
“As the NRA implodes, its vise-like grip on lawmakers is weakening and we are finally seeing overdue gun violence reforms passed in state legislatures around the country. Now: When will my Republican colleagues in Congress catch up with the majority of the American people and pass universal background checks, a federal red flag statute, safe storage, and an end to the gun industry’s sweetheart deal immunity shield?”
