Meet the Woman Who Might Actually, Finally, Seriously Take Down the NRA
Letitia James doesn't get intimidated easily. New York's Attorney General regularly takes on the scariest, most intimidating bad guys like it's her job—because, you know, it is her job. Since she took office in January 2019, she's taken on Donald Trump (many times), Harvey Weinstein, and a too-long-to-list roster of other high-ranking officials. And on August 6, she announced her latest target: the National Rifle Association (NRA).
Put simply: it has got to go. The news came at a late-morning press conference last week where James announced a civil lawsuit seeking the dissolution of the organization. The list of allegations was long, but centered around financial corruption within the largest pro-gun group in the country. She also sued four current/former NRA leaders, most notably Wayne LaPierre, the long-time chief executive of the organization. (You know LaPierre. He's the guy who just 17 days after the mass shooting at Parkland told a crowd that gun reform advocates want "to make you, all of you, less free.")
The backlash was as unsurprising as it was unsurprisingly swift. In a statement, the NRA called the lawsuit a "premeditated attack...on Second Amendment freedoms." On Twitter, Republicans railed against the news. "We cannot let the left intimidate and bully Americans into giving up our Constitutional rights to keep and bear arms," wrote Debbie Lesko, a representative from Arizona, while others labeled the move as "a partisan hit job." Even President Trump weighed in, telling reporters the lawsuit was a "terrible thing."
James has remained fairly quiet about the case until Monday—when she called us.
Can you explain a bit more about your lawsuit against the NRA?
The NRA has been registered as a not-for-profit charitable organization in the state of New York, and for decades, has gone unchecked. It's unfortunate, but in that time, they have diverted millions upon millions of dollars from their charitable mission. They’ve used those funds for personal use, for lavish trips for their board members, leadership, their family, and their close circle of friends. And they also used it as a means to favor loyalty and to exact revenge against whistleblowers and to seek the silence of others. Basically, it comes down to the fact that they failed to fulfill their fiduciary duty and responsibility to the organization and its donors.
Why is important to dissolve the entire organization, instead of just suing the current and former NRA executives who were at the center of the alleged financial malpractice you describe?
Because the rot runs deep. It’s pervasive. The four individuals named in the lawsuit had great influence over the corporation, but it’s not just limited to those four individuals. There is a 76-member board committee, as well as an audit committee, a compensation committee, and other committees that were under the influence of Wayne LaPierre.
We focused on these four individuals because of the direct connection to the abuse and the diversion of funds. We are seeking that those leaders be permanently removed, restitution, and that these individuals are barred from serving for other not-for-profits. But for the reasons I mentioned, we are also seeking dissolution.
Filing a lawsuit of this magnitude obviously takes a lot of time and work. Was there something specific that happened that caused you to move forward with it now?
There was not just one moment. We all knew about the fraud; it was revealed on the front pages of the media, so we followed this. As the regulatory body that has oversight over not-for-profits in the state of New York we could not sit idly by and ignore the allegations that were splashed on the front pages of the local media.
The investigation began in 2019. We took depositions of a number of key players and concluded that in fact there were major violations of the law, and in some cases, these individuals completely ignored the law. In the lawsuit we outline dozens of examples: they failed to ensure that standard fiscal controls were in place or adhered to, they failed to respond adequately to whistleblowers, they took steps to conceal the nature and scope of the complaints that had been filed by whistleblowers, they hid these complaints from external auditors, they failed to file disclosure forms, they failed to review potential conflicts of interest and related party transactions. And so, based on an analysis of the law we filed this 150-page plus complaint.
Some people have called this lawsuit stunningly bold, while others have called it politically motivated and even challenged your ability to take it on. How would you describe it?
I would describe it as someone who is living up to her responsibility as the chief law enforcement officer of the state of New York and someone who has jurisdiction over not-for-profits in the state of New York. I have a responsibility to ensure that not-for-profits are adhered to and that organizations and corporations do not squander the contributions of donors for its intended purpose. I would argue that the NRA’s purpose is not to provide lavish lifestyles to employees or to NRA leadership.
How do you tune out the noise of social media and focus on your job?
Because I tend not to focus on social media. I focus on the rule of law and ensuring that individuals follow the rule of law. Sure, in my spare time I may read some comments. But for the most part I am preoccupied and very busy.
Speaking of comments, the day you filed your complaint Trump suggested that the NRA should move to Texas. What would your response be to that?
I would just remind the President that the law requires that the NRA cannot just pick up and move to another state. It requires the consent of the office of the attorney general.
How did you prepare mentally and emotionally for the kind of retribution you might face working on a case like this?
I’ve been in this business for a long time. I’ve been called a lot of names. But I have this armor that I wear each and every day—and it cannot be pierced.
Have you been physically threatened since working on this case?
No and I don’t fear that.
Do you feel like you’ll be able to conduct this investigation without interference?
Listen, the NRA has fostered a culture of non-compliance and disregard for internal controls that led to the waste of millions of dollars in assets and contributed to the NRA’s current deteriorated financial state. There needs to be responsibility and accounting for that. Period.
What would you say to the people who view this as an attack on gun rights?
It has nothing to do with gun rights. The reality is this has nothing to do with the Second Amendment or my personal views on gun violence either. This has to do with not-for-profit law and ensuring that a charitable organization adheres and complies with the law. The NRA failed to adhere and comply with the law, it failed to honor its purpose and its mission, while executives looted the not-for-profit of millions upon millions of dollars. We are requiring the individual defendants to make restitution and when we make a full accounting those monies and those resources will be reinvested in organizations with similar missions.
What if this increases gun sales and boosts the NRA’s membership?
Gun sales have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is why gun sales and the Second Amendment and all of the other excuses that individuals are alleging have nothing to do with this litigation. It has to do with the rule of law. It has to do with an organization which unfortunately diverted millions and millions of dollars from its charitable mission and in some cases sought to buy the silence and continued loyalty of those individuals who were in a position to take whistleblower complaints seriously.
We have an audience of Gen Z and millennial women. If you succeed in winning this case, what does this mean for them?
It means that they should never be afraid to stand up and do the right thing. More individuals and elected officials need to have a spine in their backbone and speak truth to power and to stand up against powerful interests, particularly when the law and righteousness is on their side. This is not my first time standing up against powerful interests and it probably won’t be my last. And I would say to those young women, when we get to the other side of the mountain we’re going to be stronger together and stronger as individuals who are prepared to stand up for wrongdoing.
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