NRA lawyer says group is both defendant and victim

NEW YORK — A National Rifle Association lawyer acknowledged in court Tuesday that some former executives and outside vendors may have ripped off the influential gun rights group with lavish spending and self-dealing.

But, in an opening statement at a New York civil trial scrutinizing the organization’s leadership and finances, Sarah Rogers questioned why the NRA is being forced to defend itself when it’s also a victim and could end up reaping millions of dollars in restitution.

“There can be no question that some individuals, some executives — an ad agency, a travel agent — betrayed (the NRA’s) mission,” Rogers told jurors in the first of several opening statements by lawyers representing the NRA and defendants including its longtime head, Wayne LaPierre, who is resigning Jan. 31.

“The one question is: Why the NRA, the victim, is a defendant in this case?” Rogers asked.

New York Attorney General Letitia James sued the NRA, LaPierre and two of his top lieutenants, in 2020, accusing them of violating the trust of the nonprofit charity’s 5 million members by spending tens of millions of dollars raised through dues and other means on extravagant, unnecessary expenses.

One quirk of the case is that while the NRA is a defendant, the Democratic attorney general is seeking punishment that includes requiring that LaPierre and the two other men pay the organization back.

LaPierre’s lawyer, P. Kent Correll, defended the executive vice president and chief executive officer as having served the NRA “well and honorably and honestly for 44 years,” the last three decades as its head. Correll justified LaPierre’s expenses as vital to his job promoting the organization’s gun-rights agenda. LaPierre has repaid some bills to comply with organization guidelines and tax laws, Correll said.

“He saw his duty as…