N.Y. lawsuit takes aim at NRA

Gun Rights

New York state’s attorney general, Letitia James, filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking to dissolve the National Rifle Association, alleging that years of corruption and misspending had irreparably undermined its ability to operate as a nonprofit.

The lawsuit sets up a legal confrontation that could take years to play out and will leave the 148-year-old NRA — long the nation’s most influential gun-rights lobby — fighting for its survival.

The attorney general’s office previously presided over the dissolution of President Donald Trump’s charitable foundation, but the NRA, with more than 5 million members based on figures from 2018, is a far larger organization that is expected to put up a more prolonged fight.

The lawsuit was swiftly followed by two others: The NRA filed a suit against James’ office in federal court in Albany, N.Y., claiming her action was politically motivated and violated the organization’s First Amendment rights. In addition, Karl Racine, attorney general of Washington, D.C., filed suit against the NRA and its charitable foundation, which is based in the city. Racine is seeking changes to the foundation and alleges that the NRA misused millions of dollars of the foundation’s funds.

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James also sued four current or former NRA leaders, seeking tens of millions of dollars in restitution, including Wayne LaPierre, the longtime chief executive. The others named in the suit are John Frazer, the organization’s general counsel; Josh Powell, a former top lieutenant of LaPierre’s; and Woody Phillips, a former chief financial officer.

The suit accuses the NRA and the executives of “violating numerous state and federal laws” by enriching themselves, as well as their friends, families and allies, and taking improper actions that cost the organization $64 million over three years. The attorney general has regulatory authority over the NRA because it is chartered as a nonprofit in New York. She is also seeking to oust LaPierre and Frazer, and to bar all four men from ever serving on nonprofit boards in New York again.

The lawsuit, which was filed in state Supreme Court in Manhattan, N.Y., is a civil action and outlined a number of alleged tax violations. James said during a news conference that she was referring the matter to the IRS in addition to taking her own action and did not rule out making a criminal referral.

“It’s an ongoing investigation,” she said Thursday. “If we uncover any criminal activity, we will refer it to the Manhattan district attorney. At this point in time we’re moving forward, again, with civil enforcement.”

NRA officials have denounced James, a Democrat, since she referred to the group as a “terrorist organization” during her 2018 campaign and vowed to investigate it.

“This was a baseless, premeditated attack on our organization and the Second Amendment freedoms it fights to defend,” the NRA’s president, Carolyn Meadows, said in a statement.

“You could have set your watch by it: The investigation was going to reach its crescendo as we move into the 2020 election cycle.” She also called the inquiry “a power grab by a political opportunist” and said “we not only will not shrink from this fight — we will confront it and prevail.”

The NRA is a stalwart ally of President Donald Trump and has long wielded power in the nation’s politics. But amid its deepening troubles, it has taken an unusually low profile so far this election season.

James’ lawsuit is the culmination of an inquiry that began in February 2019 and played out amid revelations in the news media regarding the organization’s spending and governance practices.

The lawsuit alleges that LaPierre spent hundreds of thousands of the organization’s dollars on private plane trips, visiting the Bahamas “by private air charter at least eight times” in three years, according to a summary of the suit. He and his family were often allegedly “gifted the use of a 107-foot yacht” by an NRA vendor and he allegedly spent more than $3.6 million on travel consultants, including luxury black cars, over two years. He also is said to have secured a post-employment contract without board approval worth more than $17 million.

Among the numerous alleged violations laid out by James’ office, some related to false reporting of annual filings both to the state and the IRS. Her office also cited “improper expense documentation, improper wage reporting, improper income tax withholding” and failing to make required excise tax reporting and payment, among other issues.

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