The Other Big Lawsuit that Could Destroy the NRA

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USA –  -(Ammoland.com)- Over the past several years, there has been much reporting and speculation over the lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Leticia James calling for the dissolution of the National Rifle Association.

The New York suit is just one in a blizzard of lawsuits filed by or against the nation’s largest firearms organization. It has been perceived as the most significant, posing the greatest threat to the Association, but when all the cards are laid out, it may not be the most significant.

District of Columbia vs NRA Foundation Inc

Concurrent with the NYAG’s suit against NRA and four of its former and current officers, the Attorney General of Washington, DC filed suit against the NRA Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation created by the NRA to raise money and fund various educational projects and programs.

The suit claims that the Foundation’s board of directors – which consists primarily of members of the NRA Board of Directors – has been too subservient to NRA leadership, allowing funds from the Foundation to be inappropriately diverted from qualified, charitable purposes, into the general coffers of the NRA and the NRA’s political activities. Unlike the NY suit, the DC suit does not call for the dissolution of the Foundation, but rather calls for the Foundation’s board to be revamped and supervised to ensure monies are used only for qualified purposes, and that improperly disbursed funds be recouped.

Reading the DC suit, it doesn’t seem to be nearly as outrageous or unreasonable as the New York suit, but there’s a really big catch in that call for funds to be recouped. The DC suit claims that something in excess of $400 million dollars has been diverted from the Foundation to the NRA in recent years. If the DC suit is successful, and the court agrees with the DC AG’s assessment as to how much money has been improperly diverted to the NRA, it is quite likely that the Foundation would be forced to sue the NRA to recoup those funds.

If that happens, a win for the Foundation would bankrupt the NRA. And we’re not talking about a bogus, “We’re financially sound, but want to move to Texas” sort of bankruptcy, but a full-blown dissolution – empty the bank accounts, sell the building, auction off the furniture and fixtures, bankruptcy.

Perhaps the Foundation would be able to take over the building and the museum, then, over time, re-create the NRA and NRA-ILA as new organizations under the Foundation’s umbrella, but there are a lot of complications that would come into play, and the whole mess would take years, if not decades, to resolve.

There’s no telling how this might end up, but the potential clearly exists for the NRA Foundation to be forced to sue the NRA out of existence.

Both the New York suit and the DC suit have been delayed, and they’re both likely to be delayed even further in the coming months. The New York suit was supposed to enter the Discovery phase beginning next month, with a trial expected by May, but the judge recently granted NY a 90-day delay in prepping for discovery, so instead of that happening in February, March, and April, it is now scheduled for April, May, and June. The trial isn’t likely to start until November or December, and if it’s that late, might be pushed back to next year.

That’s assuming it happens at all. Some legal analysts we’ve spoken to suggest that, if NRA’s attorney, Bill Brewer, sticks with his standard game plan, the trial will be delayed as long as possible, while Brewer collects huge payments, and then he’ll tell them that they must try to negotiate a settlement. Given Letitia James’ visceral hatred of the NRA, the terms of a settlement are too scary to even contemplate.

Meanwhile, the DC suit has been muddling forward, with NRA winning a minor victory in December when the judge, in that case, dismissed two counts that specifically named the NRA as a co-defendant in the suit. How that impacts the overall case remains to be seen, and the victory could be short-lived since DC is fighting that ruling and a new judge has since been assigned to the case. The original judge was a G.H.W. Bush appointee who seemed relatively reasonable, but the new judge is a Barack Obama appointee who came up through the “social justice” ranks and is much more likely to have a chip on her shoulder regarding the NRA.

This case is also facing delays in the discovery phase, with the latest argument being over the protection of “proprietary” information that might come out in discovery. It appears that NRA and Foundation attorneys might have screwed up and failed to get an agreement to shield and protect the identities and personal information of Foundation donors. DC has filed a motion to have the agreement certified, which they and the NRA attorneys worked out, without the inclusion of a last-minute “donor protection” footnote that NRA attorneys tacked on after the negotiations were closed. If that doesn’t get settled in NRA’s favor, there could be some upset donors soon.

At this moment, the DC suit looks like it’s running about two months ahead of the New York suit. All of that could easily change as the cases move forward, but it creates the potential for the NRA Foundation to be filing suit against the NRA, right before the NRA goes to trial in the NY case. At best, that would be pretty poor optics for the Association, and at worst, it could potentially pull the financial rug right out from under the mother organization, just before the trial.

It’s all a complicated mess that is difficult to unravel, but the potential for total disaster is abundantly clear, even to a layman such as myself. And, of course, the saddest part of the whole mess is that it could have been completely avoided, had it not been for the greed and arrogance of NRA’s “leaders,” and the blind obedience of its docile Board.


About Jeff Knox:

Jeff Knox is a second-generation political activist and director of The Firearms Coalition. His father Neal Knox led many of the early gun rights battles for your right to keep and bear arms. Read Neal Knox – The Gun Rights War.

The Firearms Coalition is a loose-knit coalition of individual Second Amendment activists, clubs and civil rights organizations. Founded by Neal Knox in 1984, the organization provides support to grassroots activists in the form of education, analysis of current issues, and with a historical perspective of the gun rights movement. The Firearms Coalition has offices in Buckeye, Arizona, and Manassas, VA. Visit: www.FirearmsCoalition.org.

Jeff KnoxNRA
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Green Mtn. Boy

Wayne La Pew Pew built this,Not one penny until he and his many sycophants are removed and the organization is turned over to it’s members.

swmft

amen

Wild Bill

I am thinking that WLP wrote the rules and created the structure so that he could not be removed. If you look at the organizational structure it is not like any other club, business, or organization that one has ever seen. It can have but one purpose.
Maybe if WLP went to jail the rules and structure could be reformed to something like a normal organization.

Bigfootbob

I gave up my membership in 2002. I cannot believe how destructive the current leadership has been. LaPierre has a nice warm place he’s going to reside the eternity at, probably has an engraved place at Satan’s long table.

JPM

LaPierre still being in charge of the NRA is the problem along with the in-house crooks and member morons who still support him. The Board of Directors have been placed there by LaPierre and are nothing more than LaPierre sycophants and equally guilty criminals and co-conspirators, who along with LaPierre belong behind bars.

nrringlee

A robust and complete BK appears to be the only option. Meanwhile NSSF is cozy in their Blue Utopia headquarters in Newtown CT. Sheep to the slaughter. The assets and resources of NRA need to be distributed to 2A organizations not deeply planted in hostile territory. In any event we need to prepare for the worst of all possible outcomes and try to save the pieces.

Chuck

Not questioning or shooting the messenger Mr. Knox. Thank you for an honest assessment. I did not find it biased one way or the other.

Wild Bill

Adding my upvote, Mr. Knox

Black Powder 26

I agree with just about all the other commentors here. The points are valid and WLP must go. What concerns me is what happens to some of the good programs run by the NRA. In an effort to be transparent I am an NRA instructor, RSO (Range Safety Officer) and Level I coach. The training programs offered are really exceptional and thousands of new as well as experienced gun enthusiasts have benefited from attendance. The hunter safety programs also expose youth hunters to the sport. I am also a USCCA instructor. Presently no other group offers the wide array of… Read more »

Wild Bill

The rules, organizational structure, leadership, and the leadership compensation packages need to change. If the NRA can do that then the programs that you mention will survive.
We just can not let the leadership hide behind all those good programs.

Bobtail

Go listen to Jared over at Guns and Gadgets on YouTube tell you how much WLP paid his travel agent…..

Chuck

Patron Life Member here. I don’t know what the answer is, but obviously business as usual cannot continue. The amount of damage this has done, on so many levels to the Association is immeasurable.

Like others, I will withhold my financial support until these problems are addressed.

Doug G.

I’m in the same boat and agreement with you, Chuck. No need to discuss further.

Jed

What of the rumours that firearms and exhibits have been removed from the museum and quietly sold?

Russn8r

That’s been going on for decades. Just accelerating.

Wild Bill

Interesting. I had not heard that. Is it a rumor or is there supporting evidence?

Russn8r

Rumor? Hardly. A former ILA chief, staff & BoDs did it in the mid-’90s till reform BoDs heard of it. Don’t know about the rest but she gave the guns back.

Last edited 2 years ago by Russn8r
Wild Bill

OK.

Wild Bill

Mr. Knox, you should know up front that I am buying the used copy!

Charlie Foxtrot
KDad

The NRA’s Board of Directors has carelessly managed the finances of this once great organization. Some of their tactics might be called criminal in nature. Such is the case with a lot of organizations who take in massive amounts of funds and are run by greedy, self-serving individuals such as WLP. I’ve been a NRA member for well over thirty years, but now I’m unsure if I want to continue membership in an organization that is as financially corrupt as they are. As in this case, it is not unusual for one greedy and corrupt, high ranking person to destroy… Read more »

Russn8r

I remain a (life) member only to get the magazine & throw it away. Less $ for the vampire-crooks. Also mail in the postage paid subscription cards – blank or with some choice verbiage.

Last edited 2 years ago by Russn8r
incorrigible

I’m happy to see that I am not the only one that does that! Been doing it for 20+ years.

Russn8r

🙂

Charlie Foxtrot

Technically, the Board of Directors of a nonprofit organization doesn’t manage anything, especially not the finances. The Board of Directors is supposed to be an oversight body. The Officers of the nonprofit organization manage everything, including the finances, but have to report to the Board of Directors.

You see how structurally broken the NRA is to begin with, right? The same CEO for close to 30 years and a revolving door between the Directors and Officers. There is no oversight!

Coelacanth

Life member here, too. These dumb broads need to focus on crime, not their personal vendettas.

CaptainKerosene

If it wasn’t for the NY AG the NRA members could have fixed the weakness.
The NRA elections back in the 60s had more candidates. But too many celebrities. Too many thought the BD was for their ego and not to serve the NRA members and general public.
Many never even bothered to attend meetings.

AZ Lefty

If the Members had not blindly supported LaPierre and his cabal the NY AG would never have had cause

Russn8r

True.

Russn8r

First paragraph is false. There is no evidence NRA members would ever have fixed it. She actually did us a favor, though obviously not her intent.

Everything after is true.

Stag

How could the members have fixed anything? The members elect the BoD. The members keep sending money to an organization that has repeatedly supported infringement. The members seem to care more about how Wayne spends money than they do about their organization supporting every major piece of federal arms legislation since 1934.

Orion

and where were you in 1993/94? what did you do to help stop the AWB?
anything? anything at all?
of course you didnt.

Russn8r

Where was your precious NRA in 1989 when the AWB craze got going? I saw them cave & compromise to keep “legitimate sporting weapons” off the Cali ban list, thus helping it pass by ONE vote. Same way your darling LaPew helped Harry Reid pass Obamacare.

Stag

You’re right. I didn’t do anything. Because I was 10 years old. What’s your excuse for supporting gun control?

Tank

NRA destroyed itself via greed & avarice when it decided to go Big Lobby Ticket & leave “We the People” out of the equation. It hasn’t called out one False Flag to date. That would be a clue. NRA was founded by 4 Union Soul-diers who were most likely part of the Masonic system anyway. Wayne Le-PEW Pierre will be the fall guy. Power was always with we the people the real backbone, not the bought & paid for pseudo backbone in place now. Let it burn & a real non-Masonic influenced organization be rebuilt to true & real principles.

Last edited 2 years ago by Tank
Wild Bill

I’m thinking that things went bad immediately after WLP changed all the rules so that he could not be deposed and would always be in power. Then he looted the organization.
I don’t know about all that other stuff.

Last edited 2 years ago by Wild Bill
PMinFl

Do you mean that they are trying to eliminate the filibuster?

Rob

Read any good Dan Brown books lately? You sure get off on subscribing to bullshit.

Orion

this article was authored by Jeff Knox and there’s no doubt his longtime bitterness toward the NRA has not dissipated. yes, NRA has a problem but until i hear Pelosi, Schumer or Biden chastise any other pro 2A organization the way they constantly rag our NRA at every opportunity, the NRA remains our biggest club at keeping these socialists in check.

Russn8r

Zerorion = Marion Hammer?

Wild Bill

I could be wrong, but I am thinking that the NRA used to be our biggest club. Now, so many funds are getting skimmed that the NRA is no longer effective.
I could be wrong.

Last edited 2 years ago by Wild Bill
Stag

Jeff is right to be bitter. Any 2A supporter should be angry that a organization that claims to defend our rights has consistently negotiated them away. The NRA is the largest and most successful gun control organization in this nation’s history and it has remained that way because people like you continue to make excuses for their treachery and supporting them.

Orion

your knowledge of how things work in DC is weak. no federal gun control legislation has passed congess since when…. Clinton and 1994? even after the Las Vegas mass shooting, efforts to pass AWB 2.0 in the Senate was squashed only because of intense efforts of the NRA.

Stag

I love how you conveniently ignore the NFA, GCA, Hughes Amendment, import bans, NICS, bumpstock ban, and FixNICS.