Information obtained from a recording of a secret meeting between top executives becomes public as a part of the New York Attorney General’s lawsuit to dismantle the organization.
The Lawsuit
On August 6, 2020, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed suit to dissolve the NRA, alleging years of financial misconduct and malfeasance. In a press release issued by the office of the New York Attorney General’s office, James is quoted as stating “The NRA’s influence has been so powerful that the organization went unchecked for decades while top executives funneled millions into their own pockets… 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.”
Four top NRA officials have been named in the lawsuit:
- Wayne LaPierre – Executive Vice-President
- Wilson “Woody” Phillips – Former Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer
- Joshua Powell – Former Chief of Staff and Executive Director of General Operations
- John Frazer – Corporate Secretary and General Counsel
The Meeting
According to Tim Mak, “a secret recording of an NRA board meeting obtained by NPR in April showed LaPierre telling the audience that the NRA’s legal troubles have cost the organization $100 million. ‘The cost that we bore was probably about a hundred-million-dollar hit in lost revenue and real cost to this association in 2018 and 2019,’ LaPierre said, according to a recording by a source in the room. ‘I mean, that’s huge.'”
With the Presidential election looming overhead, questions are now surfacing as to how the NRA and the implementation of the second amendment will be impacted by their reported financial woes. How will lobbying be affected? Will the pro gun-control movement gain more strength? Will the NRA pull their trump card? The coming months will tell the tale.
