In opening arguments for a much-anticipated civil corruption trial Tuesday, lawyers for the National Rifle Association vehemently denied that executives at the gun group wrongfully spent donated funds on private jet rides, fancy meals and expensive hotels.
“It is complete fiction that the NRA spends charity money on private flights and yachts,” said Sarah Rogers, an attorney representing the NRA.
New York Attorney General Letitia James first accused NRA executives of violating state charity laws in a 2020 lawsuit, saying executives mismanaged the nonprofit’s budget and concealed lavish gifts. As the trial opened Monday, a lawyer for James’s office laid out their case against the pro-gun group in an opening statement that lasted more than an hour. Tuesday, lawyers for the NRA and three of its executives responded, arguing that while the nonprofit and its leaders may not be perfect, they acted in good faith.
The trial, which is expected to last about six weeks, is a major resume-building case for an attorney general who has vowed to take on the firearms industry. It could have a lasting impact on one of the nation’s loudest advocacy groups for Second Amendment rights, as the country enters an election year and the debate between gun safety and gun access continues to take center stage.
Rogers claimed the expenses in question were all either “business-related” or paid back.
She acknowledged that some NRA employees and vendors have “betrayed” the organization’s mission over the years. But she said the NRA has fired some employees and taken other steps to protect the organization’s funds, including requiring employees to attend compliance seminars, implementing new financial reporting software and setting up an anonymous hotline for whistleblowers.
The NRA’s opening statement also sought to distance the nonprofit from the executives accused of corruption.
She called the NRA’s longtime director, Wayne LaPierre, a “visionary leader” but “not…
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