The Attorney General of New York filed a lawsuit that would dissolve the NRA (National Rifle Association).
The NRA Dissolvement Lawsuit
Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit on Thursday (August 6) after finding financial misconduct. In the eighteen-month investigation, she found a loss of $64 million over a three year period. She added that the NRA is “fraught with fraud and abuse.”
She alleged in the lawsuit that executives gave contracts to friends and family, misused charitable funds for personal reasons, and even gave contracts to former employees to ensure their loyalty. Members allegedly used company finances for vacations, private jets, among other personal uses.
The official complaint names the non-for-profit as an entirety. It also names current and former NRA executives. Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre, general counsel John Frazer, former CFO Woody Phillips, and former chief of staff Joshua Powell were all listed in the suit.
What Letitia James Had to Say
“The NRA’s influence has been so powerful that the organization went unchecked for decades while top executives funneled millions into their own pockets,” James told NPR in a statement. “The NRA is fraught with fraud and abuse, which is why, today, we seek to dissolve the NRA, because no organization is above the law.”
Jame said that the charitable organization’s executives “[The NRA] instituted a culture of self-dealing, mismanagement and negligent oversight” James’ office said. “[Their actions created] the waste and loss of millions in assets.”
Furthermore, James is asking the court for the executives to pay back the unlawful profits they used for their own personal gains. The lawsuit asks for the removal of LaPierre and Frazer from the NRA board and leadership now or ever again.
“Charitable organizations function as public trusts — and District law requires them to use their funds to benefit the public, not to support political campaigns, lobbying, or private interests,” Attorney General Karl Racine told Fox News.
The NRAs Response
“You could have set your watch by it: the investigation was going to reach its crescendo as we move into the 2020 election cycle,” NRA President Carolyn Meadows said in a statement to the outlet.
“It’s a transparent attempt to score political points and attack the leading voice in opposition to the leftist agenda,” she added. “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.”
