NRA EVP and CEO Wayne LaPierre has just published a piece at Americas1stFreedom.org defending himself and the Association against the lawsuit that’s been filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James. The lawsuit — which LaPierre calls “a transparent attempt to score political points and attack the leading voice in opposition to the leftist agenda” — seeks the repayment of tens of millions of dollars James claims were wrongly paid to LaPierre and other NRA officers as well as the dissolution of the Association.
There’s really nothing new here. According to LaPierre, it’s all just a baseless partisan attack and Governor Andrew Cuomo and AG James can’t be allowed to succeed.
As LaPierre writes:
In 2018, James infamously vowed to “target the NRA” and “investigate the legitimacy of the NRA as a charitable organization” while on the campaign trail, before spending even one day in office and without any evidence of compliance failures. She called us a “criminal enterprise” and a “terrorist organization.”
Therefore, it was no surprise when James undertook an investigation of the NRA immediately after assuming office.
And now, despite an avalanche of evidence regarding the financial stability of our Association, years of clean audits by independent CPAs, and commitment to good governance, James filed a legal action against the NRA. She seeks to dissolve our Association and force us to close its doors.
It’s all so pathetic. And predictable.
In fact, years ago, NRA board member Tom King was privately warned by then NYAG Eric Schneiderman that an attack was being engineered against the NRA. An “investigation” of our Association – from the highest levels of government – was on the horizon. That seems like a political nightmare that could only happen in a place where people live without our constitutional freedoms. But it happened right here – in America.
And yet despite this, NRA brass made no attempt to move the Association’s charter from virulently anti-gun New York to a friendlier state. As for any wrongdoing, LaPierre says he took care of all of that.
If there was any wrongdoing, I took swift, decisive action.
We terminated vendors and removed disgraced former partners and employees who abused the trust that was placed in them by the NRA. Many of these bad actors threatened me with a smear campaign, and then had the nerve to execute it when I would not succumb to their demands. I certainly paid a heavy price in the public arena.
These were hard but principled decisions. And I stand by every decision we’ve made in support of you, our members.
And Wayne pledges to fight on.
I know many of you are following these fights, and you are as troubled as me that we have to have them.
But the NRA is well governed, financially strong, and committed to good governance.
We will not back down during this time: this is our moment of truth. …It doesn’t matter if it is the First Amendment or the Second. These are your constitutional freedoms, and we will defend them with energy and passion. You have a right to free speech and free association with others who share your desire to preserve the right to keep and bear arms. These are the freedoms that define you … and define the spirit of America.
Read the whole thing here.