New York AG Announces Lawsuit Against The NRA To ‘Dissolve The Organization In Its Entirety’
The New York Attorney General shocked the press on Thursday with the announcement of a lawsuit against the National Rifle Association.
The Media(D) was salivating and hoping that New York’s rabidly anti-Trump Attorney General was going to make an announcement about President Trump’s financial dealings after the subpoena she issued to Deutsche Bank for Trump’s banking information.
They were disappointed.
New York’s AG, Letitia James, has filed a lawsuit against the gun rights advocacy group for fraud claiming that top executives have been using the organization as their “personal piggy bank” to fund a lavish lifestyle.
James claims that Executive Vice-President Wayne LaPierre, former Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Wilson ‘Woody’ Phillips, former Chief of Staff and the Executive Director of General Operations Joshua Powell, and Corporate Secretary and General Counsel John Frazer used the NRA as a ‘personal piggy bank’ for years.
#BREAKING: New York Attorney General Letitia James files lawsuit to dissolve NRA: "My office filed a lawsuit to dissolve the organization in its entirety." pic.twitter.com/FcJtVAS2XN
— The Hill (@thehill) August 6, 2020
AG James says that the lawsuit isn’t politically motivated or that she’s trying to financially cripple the organization that donated more than $30 million towards the Trump campaign in 2016.
Aaaand then, there it is…
On Thursday, James said that an ongoing thread in her investigation was whether or not any mismanaged funds were used to donate to political campaigns.
Attorney General James posted about the lawsuit on Twitter stating, “The NRA is fraught with fraud and abuse.”
She says that the organization has “failed to carry out its stated mission for years” and needs to be dissolved completely.
We are seeking to dissolve the NRA for years of self-dealing and illegal conduct that violate New York’s charities laws and undermine its own mission.
The NRA diverted millions of dollars away from its charitable mission for personal use by senior leadership.
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) August 6, 2020
The four defendants failed to fulfill their fiduciary duty to the NRA and used millions upon millions from NRA reserves for personal use, including:
➡️trips for them and their families to the Bahamas & safaris in Africa
➡️private jets
➡️expensive meals
➡️and other private travel— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) August 6, 2020
In New York, we have a set of laws that every individual and entity must be held accountable to, regardless of its size, influence, power, or wealth.
No one is above the law, not even the NRA, one of the most powerful organizations in this country.
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) August 6, 2020
James is insisting that the organization be dissolved and not restructured because, she claims, the alleged fraud is so ‘broad’.
The lawsuit claims that Wayne LaPierre hired his friends in the 1990s and then used NRA funds – which had been donated by supporters – to pay for a luxury lifestyle.
‘Yacht trips in the Bahamas, private jets, gifts, black car services and lucrative consulting contracts for ex-employees and board members’ are among the things she claims he spent the money on.
Source: Daily Mail
It’s kind of an odd lawsuit with a general election less than three months away. When the pandemic began, New Yorkers were buying a whole lot of guns. This year has seen a record number of first-time gun buyers due to the lockdowns, riots, calls for defunding police, and increased violence–and it’s still early in August.
But this isn’t politically motivated at all…
Strong gun laws in NY haven’t been enough to stop the gun violence that rips communities of color apart every day. Today, I’m announcing my plans as Attorney General to stop gun violence & take on the NRA, gun manufacturers, retailers & banks that fund these weapons of death pic.twitter.com/xQXPzbsg8m
— Tish James (@TishJames) July 12, 2018
Oh.
Well, that’s awkward.
AG James is aggressively seeking restitution which she claims is in excess of $64 million dollars–because it’s all about justice.
Strange…in 2019, it was revealed that Bill de Blasio’s wife, Chirlane McCray, lost $850 million taxpayer dollars for her mental health project, but the AG was pretty quiet about that. Is there no justice in that situation?
Apparently not.
But, it’s not political.
President Trump has a suggestion for the NRA–do what he did and get out of New York.
President Trump: "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." https://t.co/sR3nZmGu08 pic.twitter.com/fDMcpQhZud
— The Hill (@thehill) August 6, 2020
