NRA Foundation Gets Reamed By DC Attorney General—For Good Reason

There’s no organization I’ve hated as much as I hate the NRA, although organizations that espouse racism, anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments, as well as misogynistic sentiments are up there as well. But the NRA, accompanied by gun manufacturers in the U.S. and worldwide are bathed in the blood of innocents and the U.S. has turned into one big shooting gallery. Largely thanks to the “thoughts and prayers” GOP who do little more than thank the NRA for the donations.

So when the National Rifle Association, especially its purported charitable arm, the NRA Foundation, stumble, it warms the cockles of my lil ol’ true blue heart, yes it does.

The NRA has managed to avoid facing another civil trial after reaching a settlement with Washington, D.C., Attorney General Brian Schwalb, who also doesn’t seem to have much love for the charitable branch, since he described it as an “unchecked piggy bank,” Newsweek reports.

Schwalb’s office sued the NRA and the NRA Foundation for the alleged misuse of millions of tax-deductible donations as the organization apparently attempted to compensate for the money it was hemorrhaging The trial for the suit had been scheduled to begin on April 29, approximately two months after a jury in New York found the NRA and its former CEO liable for financial misconduct in an earlier civil case.

“Donors are entitled to know that their charitable contributions will be used in furtherance of a nonprofit organization’s stated charitable mission,” schwalb, a democrat said in a statement following the settlement wednesday.

“The NRA Foundation—the charitable arm of the nra—violated this sacred public trust, allowing the nra to use them as an unchecked piggy bank,” he continued. “caving to pressure from the nra, the foundation diverted millions of dollars to the nra in grants and risky loans that were repaid only after [the attorney general’s office] filed its lawsuit.”

Former NRA chief executive Wayne LaPierre apparently used the organization as if it were a bank and was found liable for blowing millions of the organization’s in February after being hit with a lawsuit from New York Attorney General Letitia James. Prosecutors alleged LaPierre used the funds for lavish vacations and pricey travel.

The jury in this case also found the NRA had improperly managed its assets and that (similar to a certain former president) it had misrepresented information in tax filings. And the organization was also found liable for violating whistleblower protections.

LaPierre has been ordered to cough up $5.4 million in damages stemming from the case. The NRA faces $4.4 million in penalties, per Newsweek.

I have been writing about the NRA for more than a decade and that includes writing on the horrific massacre where 20 children and six adults were killed. I can only imagine the terror people felt as the gunman prowled the halls of the school. And I can also remember LaPierre saying mere days after this tragedy that “the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”

So I’m hopeful that LaPierre feels it in the pocketbook.

Wednesday’s settlement requires a thorough oversight of the NRA Foundation’s operations and extensive changes inside the group to “ensure that the Foundation operates independently from the NRA and fully complies” with D.C. nonprofit laws, per Schwalb’s office.

And leave it to the NRA to paint this as a success while at the same time describing itself as a victim. This is more or less what went down when the organization issued a statement to the New York Times Wednesday. The organization described the settlement as a victory, claiming that it had proven that all of the money taken from its foundation “were applied exclusively in furtherance of its charitable programs and that there was no misuse.”

Charles Cotton, president of the NRA described Schwalb’s lawsuit as a “political attack.”

But no, this was anything but. The NRA was caught with its hands dirty, and now conditions of the settlement require the NRA Foundation to conduct annual nonprofit compliance training. It must also establish an audit committee “to ensure Foundation’s financial affairs are in order and work with an external auditor,” per Schwalb’s statement. Newsweek reports that under D.C. law, violations of the district’s nonprofit statute don’t authorize the collection of penalties.

“tax-exempt nonprofits are a form of public trust—abusing that trust as the nra did violates both the public interest and district law,” schwalb explained in his statement. “today’s outcome builds on our longstanding commitment to safeguarding nonprofit donors’ money and ensuring that all nonprofits operating in the district of columbia follow the law.”

There were many within this horrible organization who suggested that teachers should be armed, that there should be an armed police officer in each classroom, or armed security guards outside schools to deal with active shooting situations. Anything but doing what would really be the right thing to do: implement effective gun control laws and prevent the sales of AR-15-styled rifles and other assault rifles to the general public. Because that would impede profits for the NRA and the gun manufacturers alike.

So this may be a small victory but I surely hope Wayne LaPierre is feeling the pain.