In New York, State Supreme Court Judge Joel Cohen has shut down an effort by the National Rifle Association (NRA) to stop an investigation by New York state Attorney General Letitia James into the prominent pro-gun organization from moving forward.
“The investigation followed reports of serious misconduct and it uncovered additional evidence that, at a bare minimum, undermines any suggestion that [it] was a mere pretext to penalize the NRA for its constitutionally protected activities,” Cohen said. In a statement after Cohen’s decision, James summarized her interest in the NRA as hinging on “its years of fraud, abuse, and greed,” and in line with these concerns, James has sued the controversial organization. “For almost two years, the NRA has tried every trick in the book to avoid culpability for their actions, only to be repeatedly rejected by the courts,” James added. “Our fight for transparency and accountability will continue because no organization is above the law.” The NRA unsuccessfully argued that political motivations sat behind James’s treatment of the organization.
One of the “tricks” the NRA tried to use was filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy, but a federal bankruptcy court in Texas rejected the group’s bankruptcy claims after the organization rolled out a plan for re-organizing in Texas… which would seemingly help it avoid James’s scrutiny. That court said the NRA “did not file the bankruptcy petition in good faith.”
As explained in a previous press release from James’s office, she accused the organization of “illegal conduct because of their diversion of millions of dollars away from the charitable mission of the organization 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 originally sought the dissolution of the organization, but Cohen (the judge) ruled against that part of the attorney general’s efforts while allowing the official to otherwise keep challenging the NRA.
Infamously, of course, James is also in the middle of a civil investigation into the Trump family business, and recently, Donald Trump and two of his adult children — including Donald Jr. and Ivanka — agreed to testify as part of that investigation if further court action in their favor failed to materialize. They agreed to sit for that testimony starting July 15 and ending by the following week. The former president has repeatedly failed to stop the testimony from happening: after New York Judge Arthur Engoron ordered it, a four-judge panel in the appellate division of New York’s trial court ruled the Trumps must testify, upholding Engoron’s earlier conclusions. Meanwhile, the NRA continues to face intense opposition over the organization’s role in promoting the obsession around and free flow of guns that many see as directly connected to incidents like the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 kids were killed. Thousands of protesters showed up outside the organization’s subsequent Houston convention.
Featured image: Lorie Shaull, available under a Creative Commons license
