Top New York Official Wants to Dissolve NRA
A lawsuit seeks to dissolve the NRA and hold the gun group accountable for alleged "years of illegal self-dealing" that funded lavish lifestyles for NRA leaders.
On Thursday, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit seeking to dissolve the National Rifle Association (NRA), the largest and most influential pro-gun organization in the nation.
James charges the organization with illegal conduct because of their diversion of millions of dollars away from the charitable mission of the organization for personal use by senior leadership, awarding contracts to the financial gain of close associates and family, and appearing to dole out lucrative no-show contracts to former employees in order to buy their silence and continued loyalty.
The suit charges the NRA as a whole, as well as Executive Vice-President Wayne LaPierre, former Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer Wilson “Woody” Phillips, former Chief of Staff and the Executive Director of General Operations Joshua Powell and Corporate Secretary and General Counsel John Frazer with allegedly failing to manage the NRA’s funds and failing to follow numerous state and federal laws, contributing to the loss of more than $64 million in just three years for the NRA.
“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.”
Attorney General James says there are dozens of examples where the four defendants failed to fulfill their 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, private jets, expensive meals and other private travel.
In addition to shuttering the NRA’s doors, Attorney General James seeks to recoup millions in lost assets and to stop the four people from serving on the board of any not-for-profit charitable organization in the state of New York again.