A New York judge issued a ruling on Monday denying Attorney General Letitia James’ request to appoint a monitor to oversee the National Rifle Association (NRA). The judge barred former executive vice president and CEO Wayne LaPierre from a paid role within the organization for 10 years.
In February, during the first phase of the legal action, a New York jury found Mr. LaPierre liable for the misuse and mismanagement of millions in charitable funds and ordered him to pay $4.3 million in damages. Other NRA officials were ordered to pay restitution and one agreed to testify for the state.
During the latest legal phase, Judge Joel Cohen had to decide whether the NRA should file for bankruptcy, be assigned a trustee or special master to oversee its operations, or be allowed to resume operations on its own. He issued his split ruling from the bench at the end of arguments in a 10-day civil bench trial.
Judge Cohen found that a court-appointed monitor would not address concerns about the NRA’s compliance.
A monitor would be “time-consuming, disruptive and will impose significant costs on the NRA without corresponding benefits,” Judge Cohen said. “It should be, in my view, a last resort, not the first.”
The judge said the NRA’s response to the February jury verdict had been “mixed” and showed a “lack of accountability.” He asked the parties to negotiate, post-trial, a list of measures he suggested, including reforms of the NRA’s audit committee and board positions, retaining a compliance consultant, and a bylaw that could shrink the NRA board.
The judge also expressed concerns about “speech-chilling government intrusion on the affairs of the organization.”
However, the same First Amendment concerns did not apply to whether Mr. LaPierre could return to the organization anytime soon, he found.
“This relief is about the privilege, not the right, to serve as an officer or director of a New York not-for-profit,” he said.
In remarks from the bench, the judge said it worried him that the NRA “failed to fully acknowledge the jury’s verdict” from February, and he chided its leadership for putting a “simply false” spin on that decision as a win for the NRA.
However, he also said he was encouraged by the NRA’s newest board members and the organization’s compliance team, saying that the “NRA is serious about turning a corner here.”
On Monday, Mr. LaPierre told the judge that appointing a monitor to oversee the NRA’s finances would equate to an existential threat to the organization, creating the impression that it was “being surveilled by this attorney general in New York.”
10-Year Ban
Ms. James sought a lifetime ban from the NRA for Mr. LaPierre, 74, but the judge ruled that a ban would last for 10 years.The former NRA CEO told the judge on Monday that any ban would violate his First Amendment rights and limit the NRA’s ability to raise funds off his name.
“A bar would essentially prevent me from being a voice of this organization in terms of political advocacy,” Mr. LaPierre said in his testimony. “I have a bond with folks and I believe they still believe in me. I think they still listen to me and I have the ability to have influence.”
However, the judge said the relief Ms. James sought would only prevent him from holding a paid position, not prevent him from voluntarily fundraising.
Responses to Ruling
The New York attorney general issued a statement following the ruling saying that the NRA and its leaders were being held accountable “after years of corruption.”“The damages portion of the case we presented, as well as the earlier trial before the jury, demonstrated that the NRA had a stunning lack of accountability and its leaders engaged in illegality and self-dealing,” Ms. James said in a statement. “As a result of this case, Wayne LaPierre will be banned from the NRA for 10 years for spearheading this fraud, and the court called for additional proposed reforms to the NRA.”
Ms. James filed the “dissolution lawsuit” on Aug. 6, 2020, following a 2019 investigation by her office. In a statement on the day she filed the lawsuit, Ms. James said that the men had used the NRA to benefit themselves, their families, and their friends.
She accused them of violating various state and federal laws and “contributing to the loss of more than $64 million in just three years for the NRA.”
The allegations included that Mr. LaPierre and his family used private planes and took vacations, including privately chartered flights to the Bahamas, funded by the NRA.
Mr. LaPierre retired from his role as executive vice president and CEO at the NRA shortly before the first trial earlier this year, after holding it for more than 30 years.
The NRA issued a statement following the verdict painting the ruling rejecting a court-appointed monitor as a win for the organization. The organization said a monitor would have been an “invasive and crippling remedy.”
NRA President Bob Parr said, “We recognize the importance of the jury’s findings and will continue our commitment to good governance.”
In its statement, the NRA noted that Ms. James has “failed to prove self-dealing or bad faith by the NRA Board” in either the 10-day bench trial or the previous 24-day jury trial.
“The NRA challenged the NYAG’s narrative that any governance issues at the NRA are ‘persistent’ or ongoing,” it said.
NRA counsel William A. Brewer III said that “key facts and a chorus of voices established that the relief sought by the NYAG was unwarranted.”
“That said, the Association takes seriously its commitment to stay in strict compliance with all controls,” he said.
