Empire State Today

The National Rifle Association (NRA) filed a lawsuit against New York Attorney General Letitia James over claims that she is attempting to dissolve the NRA for political reasons. 

In August last year, James filed a lawsuit against the NRA alleging that the gun-rights group misused funds.

The NRA has since responded to the allegations and filed a lawsuit in the New York State Supreme Court through its lawyer William A. Brewer III saying it “responds to the contrived narrative by the New York Attorney General, and alleges that the case she filed is part of a crusade to silence a powerful political opponent and its commitment to Second Amendment advocacy,” Brewer III said in a statement to The Examiner, as reported by The Epoch Times. 

“James commenced her investigations and this action against the NRA with the sole purpose of seeking to dissolve a political enemy,” the NRA added.

Furthermore, the NRA accused James of going against them in a bid to gain political mileage ahead of the 2020 general election.

Back in August, in a suit involving NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre and NRA executives John Frazier, Woody Phillips, and Joshua Powell, James alleged the NRA was involved in “diversion of millions of dollars away from the charitable mission of the organization for personal use by senior leadership, awarding contracts to the financial gain of close associates and family, and appearing to dole out lucrative no-show contracts to former employees in order to buy their silence and continued loyalty.” According to The Epoch Times. 

She went on to indicate she was advocating for the group to be dissolved around the same time the lawsuit was filed.

“The NRA’s influence has been so powerful that the organization went unchecked for decades while top executives funneled millions into their own pockets,” she asserted, as reported by The Epoch Times. “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 attorney general responded to the counter-suit saying that “while we review this filing, we will not allow the NRA to use this or any other tactic to evade accountability and my office’s oversight.” The AG told the Hill, according to The Epoch Times. 

In January, the NRA announced it will be moving its headquarters from New York to Texas after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This chapter of the Bankruptcy Code provides for reorganization, usually involving a corporation or partnership.