GUNS/BARMS

[Gmenfan]

LaPierre Attorney: AG James Wanted to 'Decapitate' NRA

https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/lapierre-nra-gun-rights/2024/02/15/id/1153769/

Lawyers for the National Rifle Association and its former chief, Wayne LaPierre, said New York Attorney General Letitia James' goal behind her civil trial was to take down the gun rights group for political reasons.

"She wanted to decapitate the organization, and that was for political reasons," P. Kent Correll, a lawyer for LaPierre, said during closing arguments Thursday in James' lawsuit against the NRA and its former executives over years of questionable spending.

"This is a story made up by a person with an agenda that wanted him off the field," said Correll.

James, a Democrat, was not present in court Thursday.

"If this case was so important, why wouldn't she be here?" Correll asked.

"If this is a case about corruption, it wasn't corruption by the NRA," said NRA attorney Sarah Rogers.

She said the state's case showed the misconduct was committed "against" the NRA, not "by" the nonprofit.

"When the fraud was discovered, it dug in. It turned over the rocks it was told not to overturn. It took risks for the benefit of the organization," Rogers said. "The NRA left no stone unturned."

Correll argued that LaPierre's penchant for private flights was necessary for safety reasons, given his prominence in the contentious gun debate.

"He acted in good faith and with honesty, sincerity, and intention," he said. "There's no evidence that he received any benefits that he didn’t deserve.”

James filed her lawsuit in 2020, alleging LaPierre treated the NRA as his personal piggy bank.