USA National Rifle Association -Guilty of Corruption
The National Rifle Association –
Founded in 1817 by a Civil War General and generally accepted as the most powerful Right-Wing organisation in the US – and that’s not ignoring the Republican Party.
A lawsuit from Letitia James, the Attorney General of New York, – we last heard of her, while she was being verbally abused by Trump, during his trial in New York – for widespread fraud – which. among large financial penalties -both Trump and his two sons – were also banned from running any business in the district of New York. She has now charged the National Rifle Association, and its four top leaders in an attempt to expose alleged corruption and misuse of funds.
Wayne La Pierre
The N.R.A. Executive Vice-President and Chief Executive has led the group for 39 years. His best-known mantra, repeated after mass shootings in the US, including in schools – is: “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”
He has called for armed guards at every school in America and he leads lobbying efforts against any new laws proposed to curb gun sales, or any restrictive interpretation of the US constitution’s second amendment about the right to bear arms.
Thursday’s lawsuit alleges he “has exploited the organisation for his financial benefit … and to continue, by use of a secret ‘poison pill contract’, his employment even after removal and ensuring NRA income for life; and to intimidate, punish, and expel anyone at a senior level who raised concerns about his conduct. The effect has been to divert millions of dollars into his own funds.
He is accused of diverting NRA funds for “trips to the Bahamas to vacation on a yacht owned by the principal of numerous NRA vendors … costly black car services and gifts for favoured friends”.
Wilson Phillips
Former Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of the NRA for 26 years, until 2018, when he retired.
He is popularly known as “Woody” and is described by the lawsuit as being “among the senior executives LaPierre handpicked to facilitate his misuse of charitable assets”. He and two other fellow defendants are described as having been hired despite a lack of skills and experience.
Trump?
LaPierre was invited to the White House two weeks after Donald Trump took office in 2017, for a special meeting of Conservative leaders.
Securing a new supreme court nominee who would guard the court’s favourable rulings on gun rights had been the NRA’s primary election aim – supporting the Trump campaign with, at least, $30m in 2016.
Trump delivered
Update – The Trial Verdicts:
The National Rifle Association and two top executives have been found liable in in civil corruption trial in New York and ordered to repay $6.35m).
A New York jury agreed that former leader Wayne LaPierre – who had stepped down before the trial – cost the gun rights group millions of dollars through lavish spending on himself.
On Friday, the jury found that Mr LaPierre cost the group a total of $5.4m, of which slightly more than $1m has already been repaid. He must now pay back $4.35m.
Former NRA finance chief Wilson “Woody” Phillips, general counsel John Frazer and the NRA itself were co-defendants.
Mr Phillips was ordered to repay $2m.
Mr Frazer was found not to have cost the organisation financially, and the jury did not order him to repay any money.
In the trial, defence attorneys for the three men and the NRA sought to portray the proceedings as a “baseless, premeditated attack” and politically motivated “witch hunt” by the Attorney General – Ms James,
a Democrat.
Now – where have we heard that before?