Donald Trump with National Rifle Association Executive Director Chris Cox (L) and NRA Executive Vice President Wayne La Pierre at the NRA’s 2016 convention


I joined Austria’s Radio FM4 on Friday to explain the lawsuit by New York State Attorney General Letitia James to dissolve the National Rifle Association.

I emphasize that the legal action is over alleged fraud and financial misconduct, rather than the NRA’s lobbying against gun control or an attempt to curb 1st Amendment “freedom of speech”. The lawsuit claims that the NRA’s charitable status was violated by the diversion of more than $64 million in funds, naming its chief executive Wayne LaPierre and three other top officials.

Listen at 12:44

There will be attempts to exploit this politically. Donald Trump did so in a very bumbling way yesterday when he claimed that Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden “hates God” and “hates guns”.

But I think this may not have as much political resonance because this is not challenging the NRA over gun ownership. This is saying this organization violated the law in what amounts to fraud.