New York Attorney General Letitia James’s (D) attempt to break up the National Rifle Association has been blocked.
New York Supreme Court Justice Joel M. Cohen wrote in his opinion that James’ complaint “does not allege that any financial misconduct benefited the NRA, or that the NRA exists primarily to carry out such activity, or that the NRA is incapable of continuing its legitimate activities on behalf of its millions of members.”
He added, “In short, the Complaint does not allege the type of public harm that is the legal linchpin for imposing the ‘corporate death penalty.'”
NRA President Charles Cotton responded to the ruling in a statement, saying, “This is a resounding win for the NRA, its 5 million members, and all who believe in this organization. The message is loud and clear: the NRA is strong and secure in its mission to protect constitutional freedom.”
🇺🇸“This is a resounding win for the NRA, its 5 million members, and all who believe in this organization. The message is loud and clear: the NRA is strong and secure in its mission to protect constitutional freedom.” –NRA President Charles Cotton https://t.co/AZ9AN1gRPK
— NRA (@NRA) March 3, 2022
Still, James’ lawsuit against the organization is allowed to move forward.
“While we’re heartened that the judge rejected the NRA’s attempts to thwart most of the claims in our case against the NRA, we are disappointed that the judge ruled against the dissolution portion of the case,” James said in a statement.
She continued, “We are considering our legal options with respect to this ruling. We remain committed to enforcing New York law regardless of how powerful any individual or organization may be.”
In August, James filed a lawsuit against the organization and four individuals, including its chief executive, Wayne LaPierre.
James accused the organization of diverting millions of dollars “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.”
She said at the time, “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.”
