The state of New York is taking major legal action to dissolve the National Rifle Association.
On Thursday, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit, People of the State of New York v. The National Rifle Association, against the gun rights organization, charging it with a string of “fraud and abuse” violations. The 169-paged lawsuit details a list of financial misconduct, including alleged instances of using NRA funds for vacations, private jets, and high-priced meals.
“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 said 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.”
In a statement to the Washington Examiner, NRA President Carolyn Meadows described the lawsuit as an assault on the Second Amendment.
“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,” Meadows said. “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 NYAG, we not only will not shrink from this fight — we will confront it and prevail,” Meadows continued.
James, a Democrat who on Wednesday teased a “major national announcement,” held a press conference in New York City to discuss the lawsuit. When asked why the state seeks to dissolve the NRA rather than penalties on the officials charged, James said, “Because the corruption was so broad. And because of the level of waste. And because they have basically destroyed all of the assets of the corporation. It was critically important that one of the causes of actions and one of the remedies that we are seeking is the dissolution of the NRA.”
[Washington Secrets: NRA endorsement: Trump doing ‘more than any president’ to preserve Second Amendment]
New York’s attorney general isn’t the only one to announce legal action against the gun rights group on Thursday.
Karl Racine, the attorney general for Washington, D.C., also filed a lawsuit against the NRA and its charitable organization for “misusing charitable funds to support wasteful spending by the NRA and its executives.”
“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,” Racine said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “With this lawsuit, we aim to recover donated funds that the NRA Foundation wasted. District nonprofits should be on notice that the Office of the Attorney General will file suit if we find evidence of illegal behavior.”
The District of Columbia’s lawsuit seeks to return charitable funds “improperly wasted” on the NRA to the NRA Foundation, an independent charity affiliated with the association, and make major changes to the foundation so it “fulfills its charitable purposes.”
James said she intends to file the state’s complaint with the Internal Revenue Service about possible violations of the Internal Revenue Code.
The lawsuit names four current and former NRA executives: former CFO Woody Phillips, former chief of staff Joshua Powell, general counsel John Frazer, and Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre.
The state says that LaPierre, who has held his position for almost 30 years in the gun rights organization, used charitable funds for personal enrichment, including a $17 million post-employment contract that was unapproved by the NRA’s board of directors. The complaint says he received upward of $1.2 million in expense reimbursements from 2013 to 2017, which included holiday gifts for friends, memberships at hotels and golf clubs, and travel expenditures.
“From 2013 to 2017, LaPierre was reimbursed over $65,000 for Christmas gifts for his staff, various donors, and friends. Most of his direct reports and executive staff would receive an ice cream gift basket each year from a retailer called Graeters. But those in his inner circle received gifts from retailers like Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman,” the lawsuit reads.
The lawsuit says Phillips entered lucrative consulting agreements for personal enrichment and provided little to no consulting. It also charges he lied on financial disclosure forms about the organization’s financial operations for the sake of personal benefit.
According to the complaint, “Phillips entered into a Consulting Agreement with the NRA to provide consulting services at a rate of $30,000 a month beginning on January 1, 2019, one day after his retirement. Phillips offered limited, if any, consulting and was not required to account for any service provided to the NRA. He performed no consulting services to the current NRA Treasurer and CFO and Foundation Treasurer.”
Powell’s salary, according to the filing, more than doubled over a period of under two years. On being hired in June 2016, his salary was established at $250,000 but was raised by Phillips and LaPierre to $800,000 by early 2018. Powell’s position did not change at the time.
The document says Powell used his NRA-issued credit card for tens of thousands of dollars in travel and entertainment purchases. The NRA allegedly fired him after learning that between 2016 and 2019, he spent $33,000 in improper travel expenses, $4,000 on improper technology purchases, and other miscellaneous expenses. He was forced to pay upward of $40,700 back to the NRA.
New York does not allege Frazer committed any financial violations but that he failed to comply with whistleblower laws and certified false financial statements.
