This is one of the weirdest stories I’ve read in a while (Christian Science Monitor). It seems they’ve discovered a $64 M discrepancy in the accounting of the NRA and have attributed at least some of this to the organization’s Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre. In her lawsuit Attorney General Letitia James claims LaPiere has spent millions on private jets, golfing club memberships and other personal travel and leisure expenses.
From the article:
“The New York lawsuit also named … three other current and former executives as defendants: corporate secretary and general counsel John Frazer, retired treasurer and chief financial officer Wilson Phillips, and Mr. LaPierre’s former chief of staff Joshua Powell. While the lawsuit accuses all four men of wrongdoing and seeks fines and remuneration, none of them have been charged with a crime.”
Let’s analyze this. This attorney general wants to disband the NRA over the alleged illegal activities of four of it’s officers. The AG has, however, declined to charge any of them.
First, if AG James has enough evidence to allege criminal misconduct with relation to the funding of the organization it is her duty to file charges. Does she really have enough evidence to back up her allegations? If she doesn’t have enough evidence to file charges her lawsuit is frivolous.
Second, if AG James were successful in dismantling the NRA it would set a bad precedent. It would mean alleged corruption charges against officers of any non profit could lead to dismantling, including the ACLU and NAACP. No judge in their right mind is going to rule in favor of dismantling the NRA for exactly that reason, good thing too. This woman’s personal political agenda could threaten other valued institutions. She did get a degree in law right? Perhaps this is simply a political stunt. AG James should charge the officers if she has enough evidence and leave it at that.