Opinion
Wayne LaPierre, longtime Executive Vice President and CEO of the National Rifle Association, announced his retirement today, citing “health reasons.”
LaPierre’s departure from the organization is scheduled for the end of January and surprised casual NRA members and outside observers. However, I had speculated that LaPierre might try to step out of the Association rather than wait to be forced out by a judge.
The question now is, how this might impact the NRA’s position in the trial that’s scheduled to start Monday in New York. Read my article posted yesterday for more background on the trial.
Having LaPierre out of office probably helps the NRA’s overall case somewhat, but it won’t get the NRA insiders and longtime Board members off the hook.
The judge has already ruled that any arguments from the NRA claiming that they’ve “course corrected” and fixed the problems are not admissible in the opening, guilt or innocence, jury phase of the trial. He said that those arguments must only be made during the second phase of the trial, during which the judge will decide what remedies, if any, he needs to impose. In other words, the only issues relevant in the jury phase of the trial will be whether wrongs were committed and by whom. Once the jury decides those issues, the trial moves into the remediation phase, in which the judge decides what corrective actions should be taken.
The New York AG’s Office has entered a long litany of complaints against the NRA, LaPierre, Former Treasurer Woody Phillips, LaPierre’s former deputy Josh Powell, and NRA Secretary and General Counsel John Frazer. All of those complaints involve LaPierre, either as a direct participant or as the person who allowed the bad behavior to happen. Looking at the evidence and arguments that have been made public so far, the case being put forward by the NY AG appears to be a slam dunk. LaPierre himself has admitted under oath to most of the things he’s accused of while agreeing with or claiming ignorance regarding most of the charges against the other defendants. Others have also admitted to much of what’s charged, claiming ignorance or “that’s just how we’ve always done it.”
Former Treasurer Phillips reportedly fired from his previous job for embezzlement, has extensively used his right to remain silent.
The only serious defense offered by LaPierre or anyone at NRA over the past 4+ years since this scandal broke has been the repeated claim that LaPierre discovered the problems in the NRA’s policies and procedures and initiated corrective actions in late 2017 or early 2018. They argue that “course corrections” were made, and new policies and procedures were implemented.
None of that will be helpful in the jury phase of the trial. These assertions ring pretty hollow for the remediation phase as well since no significant punitive action has ever been taken against those involved, there’s been no serious effort to claw back much of the millions of dollars that were allegedly misappropriated, and the new and improved policies and procedures have been summarily ignored and bypassed by LaPierre and others on multiple occasions, just as the old policies and procedures were.
With LaPierre’s announced retirement, speculation is leaning toward a possible settlement agreement with NY AG. While that might be someone’s hope, it seems highly unlikely that either the NY AG or the judge would go for a settlement at this stage.
The AG’s office expressed surprise over the move but said they intend to continue pursuing the case as before and that LaPierre’s announced resignation would not impact their prosecution.
AG James hates the NRA as much as she hates Donald Trump and wants to see both buried. Her staff has put together a very solid case that’s cost a lot of time and money. It’s hard to imagine her letting the NRA off the hook at this point. The judge in the case has expressed concern for the NRA members. I don’t think he would allow any settlement that didn’t include substantial reorganization of the Association, including removal of a number of officers and executives and hopefully a total revamp of the NRA Board.
The Board remained in executive Session for several hours after LaPierre’s resignation announcement, presumably being briefed on the Association’s legal strategy going forward and probably being lectured about the importance of staying the course, remaining unified, and keeping Bill Brewer – the $2 million per month attorney that’s been running the show for the past five years – in control of legal strategy.
LaPierre’s resignation has been in the works for at least a month, as that’s when LaPierre fired Joe DeBergalis as Executive Director of General Operations and replaced him with Andrew Arulanandam. That move makes it clear that Arulanandam was hand-picked by LaPierre and Brewer to take over as EVP and CEO, which is a very good reason for NRA members to be very skeptical about him.
It’s also important to note that LaPierre remains in office for now. He could have stepped down effective immediately but instead chose to retain control until the end of the month, which includes most, if not all, of the jury phase of the trial in the NY suit.
The official NRA press release announcing LaPierre’s intention to resign included the announcement that he will be replaced by Andrew Arulanandam.
NRA EVP Wayne LaPierre Announces Resignation from NRA
The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) announced today that Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre announced he is stepping down from his position as chief executive of the organization, effective January 31.… pic.twitter.com/GbGBWktu7C
— NRA (@NRA) January 5, 2024
That’s not the way this is supposed to work. According to the NRA Bylaws, the Executive Director of NRA General Operations is supposed to step up in the case of a vacancy in the office of EVP, but that’s only if the vacancy occurs unexpectedly between Board meetings. It is the responsibility of the NRA Board, not the EVP, to select a replacement for a departing EVP. The press release makes it clear that LaPierre fully expected the Board to rubber-stamp his choice, which they probably did, again demonstrating the ineffectiveness of the 76-member Board.
Where things go from here is anyone’s guess. The trial is scheduled to start on Monday, January 8th, 2024. The NY AG has a rock-solid case. The Manhattan jury is unlikely to be at all sympathetic to the NRA or its “leaders.” The judge appears to be pretty fed-up with Brewer’s round-robin motions and delaying tactics and frustrated with the lack of clear representation for rank-and-file NRA members.
Taking all of that into account, I think it’s likely that the AG’s office will continue to pursue the case diligently, and the jury will “convict” on every complaint and point the AG brings. The judge will insist on a major overhaul of the Association, hopefully including removing all of the officers, if not dissolution of the entire Board, and clawing back LaPierre’s golden parachute. I think all of this will happen regardless of what the NRA does or tries to do. That’s just my best guess, though.
For now, it’s on to New York and the trial.
About Jeff Knox:
Jeff Knox is a second-generation political activist and director of The Firearms Coalition. His father, Neal Knox led many of the early gun rights battles for your right to keep and bear arms. Read Neal Knox – The Gun Rights War.
The Firearms Coalition is a loose-knit coalition of individual Second Amendment activists, clubs, and civil rights organizations. Founded by Neal Knox in 1984, the organization supports grassroots activists through education, analysis of current issues, and a historical perspective of the gun rights movement. The Firearms Coalition has offices in Buckeye, Arizona, and Manassas, VA. Visit www.FirearmsCoalition.org.
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