A judge has rejected an effort by New York’s attorney general to put the National Rifle Association out of business, but will allow her lawsuit accusing top executives of illegally diverting tens of millions of dollars from the powerful gun advocacy organization to proceed.
Manhattan Judge Joel M. Cohen said allegations of NRA officials misspending on personal trips, no-show contracts and other questionable expenditures can be addressed by other remedies, such as fines and remuneration, and do not warrant the “corporate death penalty” that Attorney General Letitia James had sought.
The judge also raised concerns that shutting down the NRA could impinge the free speech and assembly rights of its millions of members. Nevertheless, he said, James’ lawsuit can continue against the NRA, its longtime leader Wayne LaPierre, and three other people who have served as executives with the organization.
While the lawsuit will be allowed to continue, this is a huge blow to James.
She was seriously overreaching because she wanted to build her reputation on this. She wanted to be the one that shut down the NRA—the one to deal a death blow to one of the [democrat-communists] most hated institutions.
Yes, she is still free to pursue cases against the organization and several of its members, but she was looking forward to experiencing “Democrats and the left all sing her praises.”
Now, however, she will be remembered for this loss and as someone who also helped push fellow democrat Andrew Cuomo out of office.
Letitia James filed the lawsuit in August 2020 alleging the NRA and four of its current and former top executives contributed to the loss of more than $64m by failing to properly manage its funds and failing to follow state and federal laws, as well as its own bylaws and policies.
For those unaware, the NRA has been involved in a massive scandal over the past few years as it is alleged that several individuals inside the 2A organization embezzled money and used donations for personal expenses.
