New York AG & the NRA go to war with dueling lawsuits

A full-blown war has broken out between New York Attorney General Letitia James and the National Rifle Association. The hostilities began after the Attorney General filed a lawsuit against the NRA in an effort to dissolve the organization following a nearly two-year investigation that uncovered alleged ‘fraud and abuse’. The Attorney General noted that she had discovered financial misconduct that had led to more than $64 million in losses over the course of three years. This includes the organization misusing funds for personal gain, as well as awarding contracts to family, friends and former employees. Since the NRA is a non-profit organization that is registered in New York it falls under the domain of the Attorney General for oversight.

While Jones is going after the NRA, as a whole, she singled out four individuals, including Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre, who has become the face of the organization. In a statement, she noted: “The NRA's influence has been so powerful that the organization went unchecked for decades while top executives funneled millions into their own pockets. 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.” Jones’ lawsuit shows that she is playing hardball with the NRA. Not only is she seeking to dissolve the NRA completely, she is trying to ensure that LaPierre and three others, General Counsel John Frazer, former Chief Financial Officer Woody Phillips and former Chief of Staff Joshua Powell never serve on the board of another New York-based charity. The full story can be found here: https://www.npr.org/2020/08/06/899712823/new-york-attorney-general-moves-to-dissolve-the-nra-after-fraud-investigation

As expected, the NRA denied the allegations and released a statement in which they called the Attorney General’s actions: “baseless premeditated attack on our organization and the Second Amendment freedoms it fights to defend... we not only will not shrink from this fight – we will confront it and prevail.” However, the NRA isn’t just fighting back with words. The organization filed a lawsuit against Jones and accused her of defamation and violating the organization’s right to free speech. The NRA’s lawsuit went on to state that Jones “made the political prosecution of the NRA a central campaign theme” in 2018 while she was running for Attorney General. They added that she has subjected the organization to unfair treatment since being elected.

The NRA’s lawsuit also states that: “James boasted that she would strike foul blows against the NRA and pound the NRA into submission. She vowed that she would use the NYAG’s investigative and enforcement powers for the precise purpose of stanching political speech (‘deadly propaganda),” the lawsuit states. “She has begun to deliver on her campaign promises to retaliate against the NRA for constitutionally protected speech on issues that James opposes. As NYAG, James has regrettably succumbed to ‘individual passions, and individual malevolence.’” The full article can be found here: NRA fights back, files its own suit against NY attorney general seeking to disband organization

While the NRA seems to be mounting a free speech defense, Jones is bringing the receipts when it comes to financial misconduct. She noted that the executives “instituted a culture of self-dealing, mismanagement and negligent oversight” that cost the NRA millions of dollars in assets. Jones’ lawsuit accuses LaPierre, Frazer, Phillips and Powell of using the NRA’s charitable funds for their personal benefit. The lawsuit cites examples of private plane trips, vacations, post-employment contracts, using funds to benefit their family members and significant others and falsifying financial disclosure forms. The lawsuit also states that individuals who attempted to expose the financial misconduct were met with retribution by LaPierre.

However, the Attorney General has yet to file charges against anyone in relation to her allegations of financial abuse. Whether anyone will eventually be charged remains to be seen. Yet, one thing is clear, this war is far from over.  Neither side appears to want to give an inch, so this is likely to be a long and protracted court room battle. Of course, if anyone is found guilty of diverting charitable funds for their own personal use, whether it is with the NRA or any other non-profit organization, then they should be held accountable. Now, whether Jones will be successful in dissolving the NRA is up in the air. But, if I were a betting man, I’d say the odds were slim on that happening. However, if the NRA were to be dissolved in New York the organization would likely reconstitute itself in another state. Either way, grab the popcorn, sit back and enjoy the show because things are going to get interesting with this showdown.