New York State’s attorney general Letitia James just dropped a bombshell lawsuit where she is directly targeting the National Rifle Association.
She is suing to dissolve the National Rifle Association as an organization alleging that the leaders of the organization diverted funds for personal use.
“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.”
From Reuters:
James alleged in a statement that NRA leaders “used millions upon millions from NRA reserves for personal use,” failing to comply with the NRA’s own internal policies in addition to state and federal law.
The confrontation pits James, a Democrat, against the largest and most powerful gun organization in the United States, one that is closely aligned with President Donald Trump’s Republican Party.
The action is certain to further polarize a country where the NRA is revered by conservatives as a champion of the U.S. Constitutional right to keep and bear arms and vilified by liberals as an enabler of rampant gun violence.
“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.”
The NRA, which teaches gun safety in addition to advocating laws making it easier for Americans to own guns and ammunition, is subject to New York law because it is registered as a non-profit organization in New York, where it conducts most of its financial transactions.
The NRA, which has its national headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia, about 20 miles (30 km) west of Washington, D.C., did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
#BREAKING: New York Attorney General Letitia James files lawsuit to dissolve NRA: "My office filed a lawsuit to dissolve the organization in its entirety." pic.twitter.com/FcJtVAS2XN
— The Hill (@thehill) August 6, 2020
‘[The NRA] has operated as a breeding ground for greed, abuse, and illegality … No one is above the law. Not even the NRA’ — New York Attorney General Letitia James announcing that her office is suing to dissolve the National Rifle Association pic.twitter.com/GdhtJBy3jg
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) August 6, 2020
