The National Rifle Association has not cleaned up its act and should be shut down, New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a court filing, according to Bloomberg News.
James last year filed a lawsuit alleging years of “illegal self-dealing that funded lavish lifestyles of NRA leaders” and seeking to dissolve the gun-rights group.
James’ lawsuit alleged that the NRA’s leaders have funneled millions from the group’s charity arm for personal use and rewarded family and associates with contracts.
The complaint alleged that NRA leaders failed to abide by “numerous state and federal laws, contributing to the loss of more than $64 million in just three years.”
“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 at the time. “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.”
The NRA tried to file for bankruptcy in New York in a bid to reform in Texas, out of the reach of James. But a judge rejected the bankruptcy filing, ruling that its sole purpose was to evade legal proceedings.
NRA misconduct “continued unabated”:
James filed an amended lawsuit on Monday citing the bankruptcy judge’s remark that NRA chief Wayne LaPierre had a “shocking” amount of control over the group.
James alleged that the NRA’s “evasion of accountability” has “continued unabated.”
The complaint claims that NRA leaders “intentionally disregarded proper corporate governance, wasted charitable assets, falsely reported improper transactions, and allowed insiders to take advantage of the NRA,” according to Bloomberg.
NRA claims bias:
The NRA disputed James’ claims and accused her of bias.
“It is now more evident than ever that the NYAG’s action is a politically-motivated attack,” William Brewer, a lawyer for the group, told Bloomberg. “In 2018, without a shred of evidence to support her action, the NYAG called the NRA a ‘terrorist organization’ and a ‘criminal enterprise.’ Predictably, she now quotes selectively from a federal court ruling and suggests that it supports her claims against the NRA.”
