Supreme Court appears receptive to NRA free-speech lawsuit against a former New York state official
Supreme Court justices appeared receptive Monday to National Rifle Association claims that a former New York state official violated its free-speech rights by pressuring banks and insurance companies to blacklist the group after the deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
Former NRA chief Wayne LaPierre misspent gun rights group's money, owes more than $4M, jury finds
The longtime head of the National Rifle Association, Wayne LaPierre, misspent millions of dollars of the organizationโs money, using the funds to pay for an extravagant lifestyle that included exotic getaways and trips on private planes and superyachts, a New York jury determined Friday, ordering him to repay almost $4.4 million.
Trial over lavish NRA spending nears jury, Wayne LaPierre's lawyer calls it a political witch hunt
A New York state lawyer said in closing arguments at a civil trial claiming a former National Rifle Association executive wildly misspent millions of dollars on private flights and other lavish perks that the group and its ex-CEO were caught โwith their hands in the cookie jar.โ.
NRA chief Wayne LaPierre takes the stand in his civil trial, defends luxury vacations
Outgoing National Rifle Association leader Wayne LaPierre has testified in the New York civil trial over allegations that he violated the trust of the groupโs 5 million members by enriching himself and close associates.
The Supreme Court will hear an NRA appeal in a dispute with a former New York state official
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal from the National Rifle Association over comments from a former New York state official who urged banks and insurance companies to discontinue their association with gun promoting groups after the deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
In gun law push, Tennessee governor's office memo says NRA prefers to 'round up mentally ill people'
Documents obtained by The Associated Press show Tennessee Gov_ Bill Leeโs administration accused the National Rifle Association of wanting to use involuntary commitment laws โto round up mentally ill people and deprive them of other liberties."
NRA stages big gun show in Texas days after school massacre
The National Rifle Association begins its annual convention in Houston on Friday, and leaders of the powerful gun-rights lobbying group are gearing up to โreflect onโ โ and deflect any blame for โ the deadly shooting earlier this week of 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
Judge blocks NY's bid to shutter NRA, but lawsuit continues
A judge has rejected an effort by New Yorkโs attorney general to put the National Rifle Association out of business, but will allow her lawsuit accusing top executives of illegally diverting tens of millions of dollars from the powerful gun advocacy organization to proceed.
Lawsuit: NRA illegally funded Trump, other GOP candidates
A federal lawsuit accuses the National Rifle Association of violating campaign finance laws by using shell companies to illegally funnel up to $35 million to Republican candidates, including former President Donald Trump, Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri and others.
Blocked Boulder assault-weapons ban renews gun law questions
The ruling came under a Colorado law that bars local officials from making their own gun laws. Congress has not passed any major gun control laws since the mid-1990s, leaving most significant gun legislation in states' hands. The NRA has called the Boulder ordinance counter-productive, and argued it was a clear violation of Colorado's preemption law passed in 2003. โฆ Do you think (the shooter) cares that the city of Boulder had an assault rifles ban? The 2018 Boulder ordinance banning the possession of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines was in effect for more than two years before enforcement stopped with the March 12 ruling.
Blocked Boulder assault-weapons ban renews gun law questions
The ruling came under a Colorado law that bars local officials from making their own gun laws. Congress has not passed any major gun control laws since the mid-1990s, leaving most significant gun legislation in states' hands. The NRA has called the Boulder ordinance counter-productive, and argued it was a clear violation of Colorado's preemption law passed in 2003. โฆ Do you think (the shooter) cares that the city of Boulder had an assault rifles ban? The 2018 Boulder ordinance banning the possession of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines was in effect for more than two years before enforcement stopped with the March 12 ruling.
Dana Loesch, seeking Limbaugh fans, dislikes 'angry radio'
FILE - Dana Loesch, spokesperson for the National Rifle Association, speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), at National Harbor, Md., on Feb. 22, 2018. Radio America announced Tuesday that it had signed Loesch to a multi-year contract extension. She's been doing a show in the same afternoon time slot that Limbaugh occupied since 2014, and is now on about 200 radio stations. On her show, which airs in nearly 200 radio stations, Loesch said she didn't want listeners to feel like they're being lectured to or yelled at. AdRadio America says it has added a handful of stations for Loesch since Limbaugh's death.
NY data show nursing home deaths undercounted by thousands
Andrew Cuomo's administration confirmed Thursday that thousands more nursing home residents died of COVID-19 than the state's official tallies had previously acknowledged, dealing a potential blow to his image as a pandemic hero. โFamilies like mine knew these numbers were not correct.โCuomoโs office referred all questions to the state health department. Zucker's figure of 12,743 nursing home resident deaths included for the first time 3,829 confirmed COVID-19 fatalities of those residents who had been transported to hospitals. Her investigators looked at a sample of 62 of the stateโs roughly 600 nursing homes. They reported 1,914 deaths of residents from COVID-19, while the state Department of Health logged only 1,229 deaths at those same facilities.
Judge: NY lawsuit seeking NRA's dissolution can go forward
(AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)NEW YORK โ A New York judge on Thursday denied the National Rifle Associationโs bid to throw out a state lawsuit that seeks to put the powerful gun advocacy group out of business. Judge Joel Cohenโs ruling will allow New York Attorney General Letitia Jamesโ lawsuit to move ahead in state court in Manhattan, rather than dismissing it on technical grounds or moving it to federal court, as the NRAโs lawyers desired. Jamesโ lawsuit, filed last August, seeks the NRAโs dissolution under state nonprofit law over claims that top executives illegally diverted tens of millions of dollars for trips, no-show contracts and other expenditures. Cohen also rejected the NRAโs arguments that Jamesโ lawsuit was improperly filed in Manhattan and shouldโve been filed in Albany, where the NRAโs incorporation paperwork lists an address. The NRAโs lawyers said at a bankruptcy court hearing on Wednesday in Dallas that they wouldnโt use the Chapter 11 proceedings to halt the lawsuit.
NRA declares bankruptcy, plans to incorporate in Texas
The NRA's bankruptcy filing listed between $100 million and $500 million in assets and between $100 million and $500 million in liabilities. Sea Girt LLC made a separate bankruptcy filing Friday, listing few assets and fewer than $100,000 in liabilities. In an interview, NRA board member Charles Cotton made clear that the bankruptcy filing was motivated by litigation and regulatory scrutiny in what he called โcorrupt New Yorkโ โ not financial concerns. Going forward, the NRA said a committee will study opportunities to relocate segments of its operations to Texas and elsewhere. The NRA sued the company in 2019, alleging overbilling, and said in Friday's bankruptcy filing that the debt owed is disputed.
Gun restrictions face uphill battle even under Biden
Years ago, gun politics crossed party lines, and it was easier for Republicans and Democrats to find common ground. In the first years of his tenure, Americans amassed firearms amid fears about new gun measures following mass killings. Gun control groups also are more aggressively underscoring the fears they have about the abundance of guns in homes of Americans. And there are likely significantly more after this year, which consistently smashed monthly records for federal background checks. While it remains a force in the gun arena, itโs unclear what influence it will be able to muster during the Biden administration.
NY attorney general seeks to dissolve NRA
The organization went from a nearly $28 million surplus in 2015 to a $36 million deficit in 2018. The NRA is fraught with fraud and abuse, which is why, today, we seek to dissolve the NRA, because no organization is above the law.A message seeking comment from the NRA about the lawsuit was left Thursday. While the lawsuit accuses all four men of wrongdoing and seeks fines and remuneration, none of them have been charged with a crime. The advertising firm would pick up the tab for various expenses for LaPierre and other NRA executives and then send a lump sum bill to the organization for out-of-pocket expenses, the lawsuit said. He accused LaPierre of exerting dictatorial control.
NRA turmoil creates rift among some big donors
Olson reflects what has become a new challenge for the NRA as its legal and financial issues stack up: the loss of big donors. Large donors have long been a reliable source of money for the NRA, helping fuel the clout that it wields in American politics. In 2017, the NRA received seven donations of more than $1 million, including one for more than $18 million, according to tax records. While some big donors such as Olson and Dell'Aquila have pulled back, other big donors have doubled down. He's especially disappointed to see some of his fellow big donors start to abandon the NRA, particularly as the 2020 presidential election approaches and the NRA's influence in preserving the Second Amendment is at stake.
After mass shooting, guns key issue in Virginia elections
The screen grab provided by the Missy for Senate campaign, shows a photo of an ad featuring Virginia Beach shooting survivor Karen Havekost. The campaign for Democratic candidate Missy Cotter Smasal began airing the ad "Karen" as she runs for Virginia state Senate. The TV spot quotes a woman who survived the Virginia Beach mass shooting in May and claims Republican incumbent Bill DeSteph hasn't done enough on gun control in the shooting's wake. In one TV ad, a survivor of the Virginia Beach shooting directly criticizes a Republican senator for not doing more to curb gun violence. The NRA, which relies more on member advocacy than large campaign contributions, hasn't come close to matching what gun control groups are spending.
Trump and NRA head met at White House
Copyright 2019 CNNWASHINGTON (CNN) - President Donald Trump and Wayne LaPierre, the chief executive of the National Rifle Association, met Friday at the White House, an administration official confirmed to CNN. The paper, citing conversations with two people familiar with Friday's meeting, said Trump and LaPierre discussed how the NRA could support Trump during impeachment and reelection. The Times noted that it's unclear whether Trump suggested the organization support him or if La Pierre presented the idea. The paper said that in exchange for the support, La Pierre "asked that the White House 'stop the games' over gun control legislation." "The NRA is not inclined to discuss private conversations with the President," says Andrew Arulanandam, managing director for NRA Public Affairs.
NRA singles out Kamala Harris for 'ridiculous' gun reform plan
(CNN) - Sen. Kamala Harris' campaign on Sunday responded to an attack from the National Rifle Association that called her proposed gun reform legislation "ridiculous," a move that comes as the nation is still reeling from two recent mass shootings. From its verified Twitter account, the NRA shared a tweet with its almost 775,000 followers saying, "Big surprise: Kamala Harris is anti-gun. The tweet included an NRA article published Friday titled, "Kamala Harris and Her Perplexing Anti-Gun Ideas," that accused Harris of trying to satisfy "anti-gun extremists" who hope to lead democrats "down the path of eviscerating the Second Amendment." Harris debuted a new line while on stage Saturday, linking President Donald Trump to the mass shooting in El Paso. At the Saturday gun safety reform event in Des Moines, Harris again called for its repeal.
NRA board members call for probe into financial misconduct
From NRA via CNN(CNN) - The National Rifle Association is beating back a new round of criticism from some of its own board members. In a letter to NRA leadership Monday, four board members called for an "outside professional to conduct an independent, internal investigation and confidential audit into the allegations of financial misconduct." They want both issues investigated by an outside committee that will report its findings to the full NRA board. Outside counsel for the NRA confirmed the gun rights group received the letter and provided a series of written statements from NRA leadership, dismissing the board members' concerns. But NRA members have also raised red flags about some of the gun rights group's expenses.