NRA Fights to Retain Political Clout While Under Legal Attack
- Organization claims New York AG is out to destroy the group
- Trump’s biggest backer in 2016 must fend off legal fights
The scandals engulfing the National Rifle Association threaten to undercut its financial and political power heading into the crucial 2020 U.S. elections.
The organization has long been perceived as a kingmaker, and was in fact the top contributor to Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign.
Now complaints over lavish spending, internal battles, legal fights and fundraising woes are coming to a head. On Thursday, New York Attorney General Letitia James sued to dissolve the New York-based organization. She accused the NRA’s leader Wayne LaPierre and three others of fleecing it. Meanwhile, Washington D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine filed a separate lawsuit against the NRA’s charitable arm, accusing it of misusing donor funds.
The timing of the lawsuits is inauspicious. With the presidential and congressional elections scheduled for November, the nonprofit faces a variety of challenges to raise money and cover mounting legal expenses. And its longstanding leadership is being attacked by New York State.
The legal battles will hurt the NRA politically in the next three months, said Daniel Kurtz, an attorney at Pryor Cashman LLP who represents non-profit organizations. “It will diminish its direct influence because they’re going to have to be in defense mode,” Kurtz said.
GOP politicians, from Trump to down-ballot candidates, have much to lose, as polls suggest some congressmen and senators are facing surprisingly strong challenges for seats previously considered safe. In past elections, the Republican party has benefited as the NRA energized its base, got people to the polls and funded its campaigns.