{"id":2316146,"date":"2024-07-30T16:34:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-30T20:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-temporarily-bars-lapierre-from-nra-leadership-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-07-30T16:36:19","modified_gmt":"2024-07-30T20:36:19","slug":"judge-temporarily-bars-lapierre-from-nra-leadership-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-temporarily-bars-lapierre-from-nra-leadership-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge temporarily bars LaPierre from NRA leadership &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjudge-temporarily-bars-lapierre-from-nra-leadership-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2316146&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A New York judge has temporarily banned Wayne LaPierre from leading the National Rifle Association (NRA)\u200c for a period of ten years following a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nra-corruption-case-to-get-underway-days-after-wayne-lapierre-resignation\/\" title=\"NRA corruption case begins shortly after LaPierre steps down\">civil corruption trial<\/a> that found the NRA and its executives guilty\u200d of misconduct. State Supreme Court Judge Joel Cohen issued the ruling after a jury \u200ddetermined that LaPierre misused \u200cmillions\u2063 of dollars in NRA funds, ordering him to \u2062repay nearly $4.4 \u2062million. \u200dAlthough New York Attorney General Letitia James sought a permanent ban on LaPierre&#8217;s leadership and the appointment of an independent monitor to\u2063 oversee the NRA&#8217;s finances, these \u2064requests were \u2062not granted. In a\u200d related development, former \u200cNRA finance chief Wilson Phillips also accepted\u2062 a ten-year ban \u200dfrom\u200c managing nonprofit funds in New York for his role in facilitating LaPierre&#8217;s personal expenses.\u200d During the trial, LaPierre&#8217;s\u2064 actions were deemed to violate his duty to act in good faith,\u2063 leading to his significant financial liability to the NRA. He had previously announced his resignation before the trial began, citing health issues.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Judge temporarily bars LaPierre from NRA leadership<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1716990\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/new-york\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>New York<\/a> judge barred Wayne LaPierre from returning to lead the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/national-rifle-association\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>National Rifle Association<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>State Supreme Court Judge Joel Cohen issued a 10-year ban following a jury&rsquo;s verdict that found the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/nra\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>NRA<\/a> and its executives guilty in a civil <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/corruption\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>corruption<\/a> trial.<\/p>\n<p>However, he rejected New York Attorney General <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/letitia-james\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Letitia James<\/a>&rsquo;s proposal to appoint an independent monitor to oversee the organization&rsquo;s finances and report to the court for three years.<\/p>\n<p>James was also looking to impose a permanent ban on LaPierre returning to lead the NRA or its affiliates rather than a 10-year restriction.<\/p>\n<p>In February, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/manhattan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Manhattan<\/a> state court jury concluded the trial&rsquo;s first phase, finding LaPierre misused millions of NRA funds and ordering him to repay nearly $4.4 million to the organization.<\/p>\n<p>At the beginning of this month, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3075046\/former-nra-finance-chief-agrees-10-year-ban-nonprofit-management\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>former NRA finance chief Wilson Phillips agreed to a 10-year ban<\/a> from managing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/nonprofits\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>nonprofit<\/a> funds in New York.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Wayne LaPierre, former CEO of the National Rifle Association, leaves a courthouse in New York on Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo\/Seth Wenig)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Phillips was accused of concealing and facilitating LaPierre&rsquo;s personal expenses, including private jet flights and other luxuries for him and his wife.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>He remains liable for $2 million in damages to the NRA for his role in these activities.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The damages portion of the case we presented, as well as the earlier trial before the jury, demonstrated that the NRA had a stunning lack of accountability and its leaders engaged in illegality and self-dealing,&rdquo; James said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/ag.ny.gov\/press-release\/2024\/attorney-general-james-secures-10-year-ban-wayne-lapierre-nra\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>statement<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;After years of corruption, the NRA and its senior leaders are finally being held accountable,&rdquo; she said.<\/p>\n<p>Before the trial began in January, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2711632\/wayne-lapierre-resigns-as-nra-leader-days-before-his-civil-corruption-trial-starts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>LaPierre announced his resignation, citing health problems<\/a>, after serving as the NRA&rsquo;s CEO and executive vice president for over 30 years.<\/p>\n<p>However, jurors found grounds for LaPierre&rsquo;s removal from the NRA, determining he had breached his duty to act in good <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/faith\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>faith<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Wayne LaPierre, former CEO of the National Rifle Association, walks in the hallway at civil court in New York, Monday, July 15, 2024. (AP Photo\/Stefan Jeremiah)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>They reached the same conclusion about John Frazer, the group&rsquo;s corporate secretary and former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/georgia-secretary-of-state-there-will-be-a-recount\/\" title=\"Georgia Secretary of State: &#039;There Will Be a Recount&#039;\">general counsel<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>LaPierre was found liable for $5.4 million in monetary harm to the NRA, although he has already repaid at least $1 million of that amount.<\/p>\n<p>Frazer was not found to have caused any monetary harm to the group, and Cohen did not impose any restrictions on him.<\/p>\n<p>LaPierre&rsquo;s attorney, P. Kent Correll, argued against the 10-year ban on his client.<\/p>\n<p>Correll said LaPierre was retired and &ldquo;not coming back&rdquo; to the NRA.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>However, he said his client wants to &ldquo;keep his right to associate freely with whomever he wants and to speak freely.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">NRA general counsel John Frazer arrives at court in New York on Jan. 8, 2024. (AP Photo\/Seth Wenig)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The NRA opposed the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mi-lawmakers-just-made-it-easier-to-commit-election-fraud\/\" title=\"MI Lawmakers Simplify Process for Election Fraud\">attorney general&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s independent monitor proposal, arguing that James could not prove any legal violations and claiming that it had addressed past problems by hiring new leadership.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, the organization replaced Frazer as general counsel in May. Yet, he was later reelected to serve as corporate secretary.<\/p>\n<p>As a nonprofit charitable corporation, the NRA is required by law to use its assets to benefit its members and advance its mission.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>In the last few years, NRA membership dues and contributions have sharply declined.<\/p>\n<p>According to court documents, dues dropped from about $170 million in 2018 to nearly $62 million in 2023, and contributions were nearly cut in half during that period.<\/p>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1716990\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1716990\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A New York judge has temporarily prohibited Wayne LaPierre from resuming his leadership role at the National Rifle Association (NRA). State Supreme Court Judge Joel Cohen imposed a 10-year ban after a jury found the NRA and its executives guilty in a civil corruption case. The judge, however, declined New York Attorney General Letitia James&#8217;s request to appoint an independent monitor to oversee the organization&#8217;s finances for three years. James had also sought a permanent ban on LaPierre&#8217;s return to leadership positions within the NRA or its affiliates instead of just a 10-year restriction.<\/p>\n<p>In February, during the first phase of the trial, a Manhattan jury determined that LaPierre had misappropriated millions from NRA funds and ordered him to repay nearly $4.4 million. Earlier this month, former NRA finance chief Wilson Phillips accepted a 10-year prohibition from managing nonprofit funds in New York due to allegations of hiding and facilitating LaPierre\u2019s personal expenses, including private jet travel for himself and his wife; he is still liable for $2 million in damages related to these actions.<\/p>\n<p>Attorney General James stated that both the damages presented in court and previous jury findings highlighted significant accountability issues within the NRA, revealing illegal activities by its leaders. She emphasized that after years of corruption, accountability was finally being enforced against senior leaders of the organization.<\/p>\n<p>Before trial proceedings began in January, LaPierre announced his resignation due to health concerns after over three decades as CEO and executive vice president of the NRA. Nevertheless, jurors found sufficient grounds for his removal based on breaches of good faith duties. They reached similar conclusions regarding John Frazer, who served as corporate secretary and former general counsel; however, Frazer was not held financially accountable nor subjected to any restrictions.<\/p>\n<p>LaPierre\u2019s attorney argued against imposing a 10-year ban on him since he claimed LaPierre was retired and not planning on returning but wanted to maintain his rights for free association and speech. The NRA opposed Attorney General James&#8217;s proposal for an independent monitor by asserting there were no proven legal violations while claiming they had already addressed past issues through new leadership changes.<\/p>\n<p>As required by law as a nonprofit charitable corporation, the NRA must utilize its assets effectively for member benefit and mission advancement. However, membership dues have significantly decreased recently\u2014from approximately $170 million in 2018 down to nearly $62 million by 2023\u2014while contributions have also been halved during this timeframe<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3166,"featured_media":2316147,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/wayne-lapierre.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[36690,33211,11497],"class_list":["post-2316146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-lapierre","tag-legal-news","tag-nra"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/wayne-lapierre.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2316146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2316146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2316146\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2316147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2316146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2316146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2316146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}