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Just days after the resignation of its longtime leader, the National Rifle Association faced off in a Manhattan court on Monday in a long-awaited civil showdown with the New York attorney general’s office.
With Wayne LaPierre, the longtime chief of the N.R.A., looking on from the first row, a lawyer from the attorney general’s office outlined a case “about corruption” and mismanagement. The lawyer, Monica Connell, described unchecked spending by Mr. LaPierre on private jets, worldwide travel and vacations on a contractor’s superyachts.
“The king of the N.R.A. corrupted and breached the N.R.A. from within,” she said of Mr. LaPierre, 74. Among other things, she said that he booked flights through a personal travel agent who was “asked to alter her invoices to hide who was on the flights.”
He is also accused of stocking his management team with loyalists with little experience and who had corrupt practices of their own. His longtime aide, Millie Hallow, put more than $100,000 in N.R.A. funds toward personal uses — like bedding, family travel expenses, clothing and car repairs — but “wasn’t punished in any way,” Ms. Connell said.
The case stems from a 2020 lawsuit brought by the attorney general, Letitia James. Jury selection began last week before Justice Joel M. Cohen in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, with Mr. LaPierre sitting in the courtroom for some of that process. He announced his resignation on Friday, effective Jan. 31, on the eve of the trial, citing health reasons. It was not part of a settlement with the attorney general’s office.
The other defendants in the case include the N.R.A. itself, as well as John Frazer, the N.R.A.’s general counsel, and Wilson Phillips, a former finance chief. Ms. Connell emphasized Mr. Frazer’s minimal experience when he was hired as general counsel — he had no background in nonprofit law and only two years in private practice — but she said he was seen as someone Mr. LaPierre could control. (When the N.R.A. filed unsuccessfully for bankruptcy in 2021, Mr. Frazer was not even informed, Mr. LaPierre has said.)
Mr. Phillips, who is also accused of misusing funds for his personal benefit, was hired with “little to no vetting,” Ms. Connell said.
Another defendant, Joshua Powell, was the organization’s second-in-command for a time but later turned against the group, calling for universal background checks for gun purchases and supporting so-called red flag laws that allow the courts to seize firearms from people judged dangerous to themselves or others.
Last week, Mr. Powell reached a $100,000 settlement with Ms. James’s office, agreeing to admit to misusing funds, according to a statement released by her office.
The N.R.A. and the other defendants will make their opening statements on Tuesday.
Mr. LaPierre defended his spending practices in a 2019 interview; asked about hundreds of thousands of dollars spent at a Zegna boutique in Beverly Hills, he said, “I don’t think there was anything improper about it, given the fact that I was the face of the brand.”
N.R.A. leaders have argued that New York officials are persecuting the group, part of what they describe as a concerted effort by Ms. James — a Democrat — to attack their conservative beliefs, which include an unwavering defense of the Second Amendment. The group also recently enlisted the support of the American Civil Liberties Union in a federal lawsuit that accuses former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and his administration of misusing their authority by dissuading banks and insurers from doing business with the N.R.A.
In recent years, however, many of the group’s sharpest critics have been former insiders. A number of them, including Oliver North, the former N.R.A. president, are scheduled to testify.
Ms. Connell cited some of that criticism in her opening remarks, noting that Willes Lee, the former first vice president of the N.R.A.’s board and another scheduled witness, became quite critical of the organization after stepping down last year.
In one Facebook post last year, referring to the New York attorney general’s case against the organization, Mr. Lee summed up the N.R.A.’s legal strategy as “Keep old folks who were in charge during the heinous NYAG allegations & admitted abuse. Eliminate leaders who weren’t here during the gross abuse & outrageous allegations. To the Judge, plead ‘We’ve changed’.”
Ms. James had sought to oust Mr. LaPierre, who announced his resignation after leading the organization for more than three decades, and she is still trying to bar him and the other defendants from serving on nonprofit boards in New York. She is also seeking financial penalties.
Long among the most powerful lobbying groups in the United States, the N.R.A. has seen its influence dimmed by the corruption case, infighting and a steep drop in membership. According to its internal audits, revenue is down more than 40 percent since 2016, with legal costs running into the tens of millions a year.
For all those challenges, gun rights remain a fundamental pillar of Republican politics, with conservative candidates at all levels speaking out against gun control measures, despite a steady series of mass shootings in schools, malls and other public spaces.
Ms. James has opposed the N.R.A. and even sought to close it, but Judge Cohen rejected that idea in 2022. Now, somewhat ironically, Ms. James’s legal team is arguing in court that Mr. LaPierre’s corruption has been working against the organization.
Mr. LaPierre “didn’t have the N.R.A.’s best interest in mind,” Ms. Connell said, adding, “He did it because the N.R.A. allowed it.”
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