The State of New York’s Attorney General, Letitia James (D), who was aided in her election bid by groups funded by George Soros, is receiving some push back from Attorney Generals across the nation in her effort to dismantle the National Rifle Association (NRA).
James filed suit against the NRA on August 6, 2020, asking the courts to dissolve the Second Amendment advocacy group. James based her request on outlandish allegations of financial irregularities and self-dealing among the group’s executives.
“We are seeking to dissolve the NRA for years of self-dealing and illegal conduct that violate New York’s charities laws and undermine its own mission. The NRA diverted millions of dollars away from its charitable mission for personal use by senior leadership,” James stated in the suit.
“Our lawsuit charges the NRA as a whole and four senior leaders, including Wayne LaPierre, with failing to manage the NRA’s funds and failing to follow numerous state and federal laws,” James continued. “These actions contributed to the loss of more than $64 million in just three years for the NRA.”
In response, 16 State Attorney Generals from across the nation have come together to file an amicus brief with US District Court for the Northern District of New York, opposing James’s suit and backing an NRA counter-lawsuit against James alleging that activist New York Attorney General is seeking to violate the advocacy group’s constitutional rights under the First Amendment.
Sixteen Republican attorneys general on Tuesday filed a brief in support of the National Rifle Association’s federal lawsuit against Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James https://t.co/UboOOFofYs
— Paul Beckett (@paulwsj) December 23, 2020
“New York’s lawsuit is a political stunt by a liberal Attorney General who promised in her campaign to go after the NRA. It is designed to undermine our Second Amendment right,” Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge said in a statement. “Even if it makes me unpopular in places like New York, I stand committed to protecting the Constitution — particularly Arkansans’ right to bear arms. That is why I oppose the New York Attorney General’s political stunt and am proud to lead these 16 States in supporting the NRA’s lawsuit against New York.”
The Attorneys Generals of Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia all joined Rutledge’s amicus brief against James.
In response to the overwhelming pushback to her lawsuit – and as a retort to being called out for her political opportunism, James responded to the brief, saying: “The NRA has been a breeding ground of fraud, abuse, and brazen illegality. Simply put, the rot runs deep, which is why our lawsuit to dissolve the organization will continue undeterred.”