New York Attorney General Letitia James is taking major action against the National Rifle Association and its leaders.
James field a lawsuit against the NRA for a “culture of self-dealing, mismanagement, and negligent oversight at the NRA that was illegal, oppressive, and fraudulent,” The Washington Post reports. In just three years, $64 million was drained from the non-profit, according to the lawsuit.
The suit calls for the dissolution of the NRA and the removal of CEO Wayne LaPierre, claiming for the past 39 years, he and others used money from the organization to fund a lavish lifestyle. The article also says James accused the NRA leaders of “flouting state and federal laws and signing off on reports and statements they knew were fraudulent while diverting millions of dollars away from the NRA’s charitable mission to benefit themselves and their allies.”
The suit says NRA officials “took advantage of their positions for their personal benefit.” James is requesting the courts to bar the four men — LaPierre, general counsel John Frazer, former treasurer Woody Phillips and former chief of staff Joshua Powell — from ever serving in a leadership position for a New York charity in the future.
In a statement, James said,
“The NRA’s influence has been so powerful that the organization went unchecked for decades while top executives funneled millions into their own pockets.”
"My office filed a lawsuit against the National Rifle Association to dissolve the organization in its entirety," New York Attorney General Letitia James says at a news conference. https://t.co/daesiAYEeY pic.twitter.com/GYTyJ6k5I0
— ABC News (@ABC) August 6, 2020