An attempt from New York Attorney General Letitia James to put the National Rifle association out of business for alleged corruption has failed after being rejected by a judge on Wednesday; however, the case is being allowed to continue.
The decision comes from Justice Joel Cohen of a New York State court in Manhattan, and while the effort to close the doors on the NRA has failed, it does not prevent James from going after NRA Chief Executive Wayne LaPierre.
James filed the original lawsuit against the NRA that was struck down on Wednesday in August 2020.
She had accused the gun activist group of diverting millions of dollars to fund luxuries for officials like LaPierre, having no-show contracts for associates, and other questionable expenses.
Cohen said in his 42-page ruling that James showed "a grim story of greed, self-dealing, and lax financial oversight," however, she did not show that any financial misconduct benefited the NRA or that it could not legitimately serve its members.
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"The Complaint does not allege that any financial misconduct benefited the NRA, or that the NRA exists primarily to carry out such activity, or that the NRA is incapable of continuing its legitimate activities on behalf of its millions of members," Cohen wrote. "In short, the Complaint does not allege the type of public harm that is the legal linchpin for imposing the 'corporate death penalty.'"
As an alternative, Cohen said that James could seek a "less intrusive" remedy against NRA officials like LaPierre instead of trying to shackle the NRA, which could infringe members' free speech rights.
Cohen said this could include LaPierre's ouster under state laws governing nonprofits. He added that James had described in "meticulous detail" his alleged exploitation of the NRA, "general disregard for corporate governance," and abuse of power in his executive role.
James shared in a statement that she was disappointed with the decision from Cohen but pleased that she could still attempt to show how "fraud, abuse, and greed permeate through the NRA and its senior leadership."
"While we're heartened that the judge rejected the NRA's attempts to thwart most of the claims in our case against the NRA, we are disappointed that the judge ruled against the dissolution portion of the case," James said in a statement. "We are considering our legal options with respect to this ruling. We remain committed to enforcing New York law regardless of how powerful any individual or organization may be."
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