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Hal C Clarke
Attorney General Letitia James is advocating for a court-appointed monitor to oversee the NRA and its charitable assets as its former head, Wayne LaPierre, faces the possibility of a lifetime ban. James and LaPierre returned to a Manhattan courtroom on Monday as the state commenced the second phase of a trial that could permanently disassociate LaPierre from the gun rights organization, NY Post reported.
In the trial’s first phase, LaPierre faced a significant setback when he was ordered to repay approximately $4.4 million to the NRA for his extravagant misuse of charitable donations. The second phase now targets the NRA itself.
NRA lawyers and current board member Charles Cotton argue that banning LaPierre is unconstitutional and assert that the organization is abandoning its charitable status. Cotton testified on Monday, saying, “We’re not a charity,” after signing papers to change the NRA’s status in April. This move came months after a jury found the NRA guilty of mismanaging charitable funds and violating state whistleblower laws, alongside LaPierre’s misconduct.
Cotton’s admission seems to support the state’s case that the NRA remains unrepentant. The NRA has previously tried to evade James’ legal actions by filing for bankruptcy and relocating to Texas. LaPierre resigned from the NRA just before the trial began in January.
Despite claims of implementing new audit measures and whistleblower protections, Assistant Attorney General Steve Shiffman presented internal communications showing resistance to change. Emails displayed during Cotton’s testimony revealed attempts by board members to frame the jury’s verdict as a victory for the NRA and a defeat for James.
The verdict found LaPierre guilty of misappropriating $5.4 million for personal luxuries, including private flights, helicopter trips, and fraudulent vendor invoices. Consequently, LaPierre was ordered to repay $4.4 million. Despite this, former NRA general counsel John Frazer, also a defendant in the current trial, claimed in an email that the NRA was the real victim of misconduct.
Additional internal documents showed a strategy of portraying the NRA as not being a defendant in the jury trial. Cotton’s statement after the trial praised the board’s audit committee for “years of corrective review,” despite the jury’s findings.
Cotton’s comments in an NRA press release suggested the trial confirmed the organization as a victim of former vendors and insiders’ abuse, excluding any mention of LaPierre or the organization’s own wrongdoing. He reiterated to NRA members that the first phase of the trial involved individual defendants, not the NRA itself.
When questioned by Shiffman about any penalties imposed on LaPierre, Cotton admitted there were none, such as salary cuts or public reprimands. He stated, “We were keeping a lot closer eye on him,” but acknowledged no formal disciplinary actions were taken.
LaPierre’s resignation on the eve of the jury trial was unexpected, with Cotton referring to him as a “towering figure” in a subsequent press release. An internal review conducted before the trial revealed the NRA’s declining financial and membership status, with revenue dropping to $277.7 million in 2022, nearly $140 million less than in 2018. Membership also fell from 5.2 million in 2018 to 3.8 million in 2023.
When asked to comment on the gun industry after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, LaPierre responded, “I’m retired.”
As the trial progresses, Attorney General James’ push for a monitor underscores the ongoing struggle to hold the NRA accountable and restore its integrity.
