'The NRA is not Wayne LaPierre,' gun lobby lawyer tells NY corruption jury, distancing the group from longtime leader

• Lawyers for the NRA and for Wayne LaPierre made opening statements in the NY civil corruption trial.

• The NRA continues to walk a fine line, praising LaPierre's "legacy" while calling itself his victim.

• The NY attorney general accuses the gun group of letting LaPierre pocket millions in donor dollars.

The National Rifle Association continued walking a fine line in fighting New York's civil corruption charges on Tuesday, praising outgoing leader Wayne LaPierre as "visionary" in opening statements while also calling themselves his victim.

"The NRA is not Wayne LaPierre," NRA attorney Sarah B. Rogers told six jurors and six alternates in a Manhattan courtroom, as the man who for 30 years was the face and strident voice of the not-for-profit listened from the front row.

That declaration was an about-face from the NRA's January, 2021 federal bankruptcy trial, during which multiple current and former executives at the gun lobby testified that LaPierre and the organization were essentially synonymous.

"LaPierre is the NRA," current CFO Sonya Rowling testified at the Texas trial, citing his fundraising prowess and media prominence.

The NRA told its membership in a surprise announcement on Friday that LaPierre will step down on January 31. The announcement came just three days before the trial opened.

The NRA cited unspecified "health reasons," with the group's lawyers a day later saying LaPierre suffers from chronic Lyme disease.

But health aside, the sudden resignation has served strategic usefulness at trial, allowing the gun lobby to claim it has thoroughly cleaned house and can't be held liable for enabling ongoing misconduct.

The NRA unspooled its new strategy of blaming LaPierre in court filings just one day after the resignation, prompting a skeptical response from their trial adversary, the New York attorney general's office, which noted in court papers that until then, the two co-defendants had been in "lockstep."

The blame-Wayne strategy continued during Tuesday's openings.

"Mr. LaPierre has been a valuable and visionary leader," Rogers, the NRA's lawyer, told jurors.

"But he was not always a meticulous corporate executive," she added, launching into a summary of leadership misdeeds so comprehensive that it could have been written by the AG.

Those now-corrected "violations" — the NRA lawyer's own word — include LaPierre accepting gifts from vendors that should have been reported. Additional money LaPierre pocketed "was repaid to the NRA with interest," the lawyer added.

"You will learn from members of the NRA board that the NRA continues to honor the legacy of Wayne LaPierre," she told the jury, before repeating, "but the NRA is not Wayne LaPierre."

New York Attorney General Letitia James sued the gun lobby, LaPierre, and three other longtime NRA leaders three years ago. Her office alleges in the 2020 lawsuit now on trial that the defendants violated New York not-for-profit laws.

LaPierre and other senior leadership funneled millions of donor dollars into their own pockets and those of favored vendors, the suit alleges. LaPierre in particular treated himself and his family to luxury vacations, private plane travel and designer clothing, the suit says.

One co-defendant, Joshua Powell, the NRA's former executive director of general operations, settled Friday for $100,000 and will now be a star witness for the attorney general's office.

Of the remaining two co-defendants, former CFO Wilson "Woody" Phillips resigned six years ago. Only the NRA's general counsel, John Frazer, is still working there.

"Good riddance," the NRA's lawyer told jurors of Powell and Phillips' departures.

The jury must determine if the NRA, LaPierre, Phillips and Frazer are liable for breaking state not-for-profit law, and what amount of money, if any, should be repaid to the NRA.

A finding of liability would then be kicked to the trial judge, state Supreme Court Justice Joel Cohen. The judge, in a separate bench trial, would then determine further penalties, including the AG's request that LaPierre be permanently barred from helming a New York not-for-profit.

"LaPierre has been the singular face of, and fundraiser for, the gun lobby for decades, and sworn testimony makes it crystal clear," said Nick Suplina, a senior vice president for Everytown for Gun Safety, referring to the testimony from the bankruptcy.

The gun safety group detailed that testimony in its 2021 NRA Watch Report, "NRA on Trial: Wayne's Kingdom of Orange Jumpsuits, Golden Parachutes, and Management by Chaos."

This story has been updated to include details from the 2021 bankruptcy and the statement by Suplina.

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