By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
In what the New York Times called “a sweeping rebuke of the National Rifle Association,” a Manhattan jury has found against former NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre and former Treasurer Wilson “Woody” Phillips for what New York Attorney General Letitia James called “financial misconduct and corruption in managing the organization” in a public statement.
LaPierre was ordered to repay the NRA $4.35 million and Phillips another $2 million. The news release from James’ office noted Phillips and Corporate Secretary and General Counsel John Frazer were liable “for failing to uphold their duties as nonprofit executives.”
Following the verdict, NPR reported that LaPierre called the case against him and NRA a “political witch hunt.”
But NPR also said NRA has declined as a political force. With critical national and state elections looming in November, the gun rights organization has plenty of work ahead.
James filed her lawsuit in 2020, having indicated she would seek to have the organization dissolved. But in 2022, a judge rejected that proposal, while allowing her case to move forward. It culminated in a six-week trial which started in January. Just before the trial began, LaPierre announced he would leave the post he had occupied for three decades, effective Jan. 31.
James, who once described NRA as a terrorist organization, had alleged the mismanagement had cost the NRA millions of dollars. In her statement, James asserted, “For years, Wayne LaPierre used charitable dollars to fund his lavish lifestyle, spending millions on luxury travel, expensive clothes, insider contracts, and other perks for himself and his family. LaPierre and senior leaders at the NRA blatantly abused their positions and broke the law. But today, after years of rampant corruption and self-dealing, Wayne LaPierre and the NRA are finally being held accountable. We will not hesitate to pursue justice against any individual or organization that violates our laws or our trust, no matter how powerful they are.”
The legal action and allegations contained in the initial lawsuit were followed by membership losses and declines in funding. Social media saw many gun owners declare they would no longer donate to NRA, and others allegedly changed their affiliations to other gun rights organizations.
There was other strife, including a legal conflict between NRA and its longtime public relations firm, Ackerman McQueen. NRA also attempted unsuccessfully to declare bankruptcy, an effort which was dismissed by a bankruptcy court in 2021.
According to MSN.com, “New York State Supreme Court Justice Joel Cohen, who presided over the trial, will make the final decision on whether the executives will be blocked from working for the NRA going forward.”
NPR quoted Nick Suplina, a senior vice president at Everytown for Gun Safety—the Michael Bloomberg-founded gun control lobbying group—asserting, “This verdict confirms what we’ve seen in recent elections, in state legislatures, and in the halls of Congress: the gun lobby has never been weaker, and the gun safety movement has never been stronger.”
He also contended that after losing at trial, and losing LaPierre as its leader, NRA had also lost “whatever political relevance it had left.”
That remains to be seen as the presidential and congressional campaigns heat up over the next few months. It has been written many times the NRA fights best from behind circled wagons. The organization must now find a new executive vice president, and hold its annual members meeting in Dallas, Texas May 16-19, which is no small undertaking.
The Outdoor Wire noted Monday in its ongoing coverage of the NRA saga that Alan Gottlieb, founder and executive vice president of the Second Amendment Foundation, and chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, told editor Jim Shepherd, “I hope the NRA powers-to-be get back on track as soon as possible. This is a very important election year.”
Gottlieb also observed, “This is why gun owners should not put all their eggs in one basket. We need a gun rights movement based on multiple organizations.”
