New York Attorney General Announces Lawsuit Seeking To Dissolve The NRA

New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Thursday that she is filing a lawsuit with the intention of dissolving the National Rifle Association (NRA).

“Just a few minutes ago, my office filed a lawsuit against the National Rifle Association to dissolve the organization in its entirety for years of self-dealing and illegal conduct that violate New York’s charities law and undermine its own mission,” James said at a press conference.

WATCH:

BREAKING: New York AG Letitia James announces that she is filing a lawsuit seeking to dissolve the @NRA.

She accuses the organization of “years of self-dealing and illegal conduct that violate New York’s charities law and undermine its own mission.”pic.twitter.com/oddMGEnqm4

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 6, 2020

“The National Rifle Association, or the NRA, is the largest and most influential pro-gun organization in the nation,” James said, noting that the NRA has been registered as a nonprofit charitable organization in New York since it was founded in 1871. (RELATED: Gun And Ammo Sales Skyrocketing As Coronavirus Panic Continues To Spread)

“The Attorney Generals office has a wide range of regulatory and enforcement powers 0ver charitable corporations and their trustees, including the NRA,” she added. “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 lawsuit accuses top executives of financial misconduct, alleging that they used the organization’s funds to finance a lavish lifestyle. The losses totaled more than $64 million over a 3-year period, according to NPR.

The suit alleges that CEO and Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre, former CFO Woody Phillips, former chief of staff Joshua Powell, and general counsel John Frazer are all guilty of misconduct, NPR reported.

The Attorney General said on Twitter that the organization “diverted millions of dollars away from its charitable mission for personal use by senior leadership.”

We are seeking to dissolve the NRA for years of self-dealing and illegal conduct that violate New York’s charities laws and undermine its own mission.

The NRA diverted millions of dollars away from its charitable mission for personal use by senior leadership.

— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) August 6, 2020

NRA President Carolyn Meadows called the lawsuit “a baseless, premeditated attack on our organization and the Second Amendment freedoms it fights to defend.”

“You could have set your watch by it: the investigation was going to reach its crescendo as we move into the 2020 election cycle,” Meadows told the Daily Caller. “It’s a transparent attempt to score political points and attack the leading voice in opposition to the leftist agenda. This has been a power grab by a political opportunist – a desperate move that is part of a rank political vendetta. “

“Our members won’t be intimidated or bullied in their defense of political and constitutional freedom,” Meadows added. “As evidenced by the lawsuit filed by the NRA today against the NYAG, we not only will not shrink from this fight – we will confront it and prevail.”

The NRA sued New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other state officials in April seeking to designate gun stores as essential businesses after they were shut down by the governor’s executive order during the coronavirus pandemic.