LEGAL FACTS

In August 2020, New York Attorney General (NYAG) Letitia James filed a “dissolution lawsuit” against the NRA – a case that sought to shut down the Association and seize its assets. Four years later, on July 29, 2024, New York State Supreme Court Justice Joel M. Cohen rejected the NYAG’s demands for a compliance monitor and instead recommended the NRA and NYAG confer to consent to further governance reforms.

 

In accordance with the court’s direction, the NRA will suggest additional reforms in furtherance of its ongoing commitment to good governance. 

The NYAG sought something vastly different: a “monitor” that would have been an invasive and crippling remedy with financial oversight, access to employees and records, and an open line of communication with the NYAG. That proposal was rejected by the court.

 

The NRA remains positioned for a bright future.

In the Final Analysis: A Safe & Secure NRA

In the final analysis, the NRA will pay no fines, collect awards from individual defendants, and have the freedom to pursue its mission. An expected final award of millions of dollars against former Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre will be payable to the NRA, as will proceeds from prior settlements with former NRA executives Josh Powell and Wilson Phillips.

The court found no reason to remove NRA Secretary John Frazer from his position.

“We recognize the importance of the jury’s findings and will continue our commitment to good governance,” says NRA President Bob Barr, as he, “praised the Association’s millions of loyal members who never lost faith in the organization and its commitment to protecting freedom.”

“The NRA is moving forward full speed ahead,” says NRA EVP & CEO Doug Hamlin. “We have a mission to fulfill and elections to win up and down the ballot. This is a major step toward rebuilding the trust of the members, donors, industry, and our staff.”

A 10-day bench trial that concluded today followed a 24-day jury trial earlier this year, during which the NRA established the NYAG failed to prove self-dealing or bad faith by the NRA Board. The NRA challenged the NYAG’s narrative that any governance issues at the NRA are “persistent” or ongoing.

Importantly, reflected in today’s decision was recognition that the NRA established that it adopted new policies and accounting controls, displaced vendors and “insiders” who abused the Association, and accepted reparations for costs determined to be excess benefits. Most of these corrective measures – part of an internal investigation ignited by the NRA Board in 2018 – were underway before the NYAG even began her investigation.

Upon assuming office in 2019, Attorney General James launched an investigation and sought to put the NRA out of business. As part of her drive to destroy the NRA, on July 1, 2024, James requested a court-appointed delegate with sweeping powers over the Association.

The NRA’s defense focused on its compliance efforts and the organization’s commitment to good governance following whistleblower complaints that emerged in the summer of 2018. When the NRA Board was alerted to the allegations, it led an investigation and determined that certain individuals participated in transactions that ran afoul of NRA policies and procedures. Testimony confirmed the “tone at the top” of the NRA has indeed changed.

“Key facts and a chorus of voices established that the relief sought by the NYAG was unwarranted,” says NRA counsel William A. Brewer III. “The NRA organized its defense around an important reality: there was no evidence the NRA Board of Directors condoned the violations in question; instead, the board acted when it became aware of deviations from its own controls. That said, the Association takes seriously its commitment to stay in strict compliance with all controls.”

 

Read the Court’s Interim Decision After Non-Jury Trial here.

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NRA Scores Legal Victory in Dispute with DC Attorney General

On April 17, 2024, the NRA announced a legal victory in a high-profile governance matter brought by the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia (DCAG).

Filed by the DCAG on August 6, 2020, in obvious coordination with a lawsuit brought by the Attorney General in New York, the suit alleged that the NRA misused tens of millions of dollars of NRA Foundation funds. In response, the NRA challenged the claims as politically motivated and stated that it acted appropriately at all times. On April 16, 2024, the NRA and NRA Foundation entered into a consent order, whereby the DCAG dismisses all claims against the NRA. The order contains no adverse finding against the NRA and no allegations regarding the use of funds of the NRA Foundation. There are no fines or penalties whatsoever against the NRA.

Discovery proved that all funds received from the NRA Foundation were applied exclusively in furtherance of its charitable programs and that there was no misuse of Foundation monies.

“This is further proof of the NRA’s commitment to good governance,” says NRA President Charles Cotton. “The NRA confronted this political attack – and emerges from this lawsuit strong, secure, and vindicated. The NRA and NRA Foundation are fully committed to pursuing their world-class firearms education, training, and safety programs.”

The NRA Foundation supports a wide range of public programs focused on firearms safety and training, law enforcement education, hunter safety, and youth. Its Eddie Eagle GunSafe program has taught gun safety to more than 32 million children.

The NRA will continue to administer the NRA Foundation's programs. The order in no way limits the NRA Foundation’s ability to amend its articles, bylaws, or other organizational documents.

“This outcome is a resounding win for the NRA and for the NRA Foundation, too. Both remain positioned to meet their respective goals and mission,” says William A. Brewer III, counsel to the NRA. “The result should bring an abrupt end to allegations against NRA board leadership. The resolution also supports the NRA Foundation as it pursues the highest of ethical and organizational standards – so donors can give with confidence, as always.”

With respect to the genesis of the lawsuit, Brewer said: “As even the most casual observers agree, this was a politically-motivated action – filed in coordination with the NYAG. The NRA is committed to protecting itself from adverse actions by government officials using their power to attack the NRA for its Second Amendment advocacy.”

While the consent order resolves the DCAG’s claims against the NRA and NRA Foundation, it has no bearing on the NRA’s other legal matters, including its pursuit of government officials who combined to destroy the NRA.

The NRA participated in oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court on March 18, 2024, in support of its lawsuit against a former New York state financial regulator. The case has earned the support of legal experts and constitutional scholars, including the ACLU.

“The NRA remains confident in its position and standing as America’s greatest defender of Second Amendment freedom,” Cotton says. “The momentum continues to build for the Association and its millions of members.”

Read the Consent Order.

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