Letitia James: ‘rot runs deep’ at NRA
Attorney general criticizes organization for reelecting Lapierre, other top leaders
Attorney General Letitia James released a statement Sunday calling out the National Rifle Association after the group decided to reelect a top executive to its board who has previously been sued by her office.
The official, Wayne Lapierre, was appointed executive vicepresident to NRA’S board. He was named in a lawsuit filed last year against the NRA and some of its top employees.
“The NRA’S decision to reelect Wayne Lapierre and other top leaders yesterday despite the detailed evidence of repeated fraud and self-dealing we have laid out in our lawsuit and during the bankruptcy trial underscores that board governance is broken and that the rot runs deep at NRA,” James said in a press release.
“For years, Mr. Lapierre and his lieutenants used the NRA and its donors as a breeding ground for personal gain and to live a lavish lifestyle, which is why they must be removed. Our fight for transparency and accountability will continue because no one is above the law,” the statement continued.
The lawsuit was originally filed in Aug. 2020. However, the case is still ongoing. In an investigation, James’ office found evidence of top executives failing to manage NRA’S funds, not abiding by state and federal laws, in addition to the NRA’S own policies and bylaws.
As a result of the alleged crimes, the NRA lost $64 million in approximately three years.
Specifically, the lawsuit named Lapierre, Wilson “Woody” Phillips, the organization’s former treasurer and chief financial officer, Joshua Powell, the group’s former chief of staff and executive director of general operations and John Frazer, corporate secretary and general counsel.
According to the attorney general’s office, the NRA filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in January “in an effort to avoid accountability altogether.”
At the time of the filing, the group insisted they had healthy financial reserves, the statement included.
A few top NRA executives — including Lapierre, incoming President Charles Cotton and Willis Lee, the incoming first vice-president — admitted that the bankruptcy trail was an attempt to avoid state enforcement, the release stated.
As recently as May, a federal judge in Texas dismissed a bankruptcy claim filed by the NRA, asserting that the claim was not filed in “good faith.”