Now that the NRA’s legal battle with New York Attorney General Letitia James is mostly over, who emerged victorious in her years-long attempt to destroy the NRA? According to James, she did. As Courthouse News reporter Erik Uebelacker reports, the AG wasted no time in patting herself on the back after Judge Joel Cohen delivered his verdict on Monday afternoon.
“The NRA and its senior leaders broke the law, and funneled millions of dollars in cash and lavish perks to themselves, their families, and NRA insiders,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. “As a result of this case, Wayne LaPierre will be banned from the NRA for 10 years for spearheading this fraud, and the court called for additional proposed reforms to the NRA. After years of corruption, the NRA and its senior leaders are finally being held accountable.”
NRA executive vice president Doug Hamlin, on the other hand, also sounded a note of victory after Cohen’s decision was handed down Monday afternoon.
LaPierre’s successor Doug Hamlin said in a statement Monday that the NRA is “moving forward full speed ahead” after this trial.
“We have a mission to fulfill and elections to win up and down the ballot,” Hamlin added. “This is a major step toward rebuilding the trust of the members, donors, industry, and our staff.”
In truth, neither side got exactly what they were after. James failed to not only dissolve the NRA, which was her original goal, but Cohen denied her request to appoint an independent monitor to oversee the NRA’s non-political spending. The NRA, meanwhile, has been banned from hiring Wayne LaPierre for the next ten years, and will likely have to adopt some internal reforms that (theoretically, at least) will weaken the grip that the old guard still has on the organization.
Judge Cohen made a point to express his confidence in “serious” reformers. He pointed to NRA First Vice President Bill Bachenberg, Second Vice President Mike Vaughan, and CEO Doug Hamlin, along with compliance personnel Robert Mensinger and Medrano. He commended Sonya Rowling, the NRA’s current Treasurer and a former whistleblower, for exhibiting the “spine to stand up to power” in and since 2018.
The judge said he was also reassured by “members and donors” expressing their active interest in the future of the NRA. “The environment around the NRA has changed,” he said.
However, Cohen prefaced his ruling with some harsh words that excoriated unduly rosy press releases and public comments by NRA leaders in the wake of the jury verdict. The judge also warned that “in the event of future wrongdoing,” which would “likely come back to this court,” the NRA would be viewed in less favorable a light. He predicted “grim results” for anyone involved in potential future problems.
He also recommended the group adopt a series of changes that he believed would be more appropriate remedies than what the AG wanted. He proposed turning “some or all” of the reforms suggested by the NRA’s Audit Committee on the eve of trial into a court order. He said the group’s current rules “erect barriers to getting on the ballot” for board elections and suggested “expand[ing] the path” in order to avoid “unhealthy entrenchment.” Cohen suggested the NRA hire an in-house consultant to “recommend best practices,” but said they wouldn’t be required to report to the AG or him. He also recommended a new rule that would exclude people who were on the Audit Committee during the period covered by the jury’s ruling from serving on the committee now. He also said the NRA should reduce the size of its board because while a large board “makes sense for fundraising,” it can be “unmanageable.”
He ordered the NRA and the AG’s office to work through the list of suggestions next week to see which they might agree on.
I don’t think Cohen’s suggestions are particularly onerous, and I’d like to see the NRA quickly adopt all of his recommendations instead of dragging out its negotiations with James for months on end. One of the most pressing concerns for the group is getting its legal expenses under control, and a speedy resolution is incumbent on the NRA in order to stop hemorrhaging cash.
Adopting Cohen’s recommendations would also be a signal to NRA members that the group’s leadership and board of directors is serious about reforming the organization. The NRA has already taken some important steps, as Cohen noted, but there’s much more work to be done to regain the trust of members and donors.
