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‘From our cold, dead hands’: NRA fires lawsuit right back at NY AG after ‘premeditated’ political power move

August 7, 2020 | | Print Article

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In a stunning move that critics say reeks of corruption, New York State Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, announced a lawsuit Thursday against the National Rifle Association and vowed to dissolve the entire organization.

The unprecedented move drew massive criticism, in part because of James’ decision to target the entire organization, versus individual players, over allegations that “top executives funneled millions into their own pockets.”

After all, when federal authorities went after the corrupt United Auto Workers union last year, they targeted the union’s top officials, not the organization itself.

In response to James’ announcement, the NRA accused James’ of perpetrating a “baseless, premeditated attack on our organization and the Second Amendment freedoms it fights to defend” and linked the attack to the 2020 race.

“You could have set your watch by it: the investigation was going to reach its crescendo as we move into the 2020 election cycle,” the group said on Twitter.

“It’s a transparent attempt to score political points and attack the leading voice in opposition to the leftist agenda. This has been a power grab by a political opportunist – a desperate move that is part of a rank political vendetta.”

In an ominous tweet posted late Thursday, the 148-year-old organization added, “From our cold, dead hands.”

Look:

Apparently the NRA meant every word, because late Thursday it reportedly filed a countersuit accusing the entire “New York Democratic Party political machine,” ironically but fairly enough, of “seek[ing] to harass, defund, and dismantle the NRA because of what it believes and what it says,” i.e., for political purposes.

(Democrat actions do always seem to be politically motivated.)

“James boasted that she would strike foul blows against the NRA and pound the NRA into submission. She vowed that she would use the NYAG’s investigative and enforcement powers for the precise purpose of stanching political speech (‘deadly propaganda’),” the lawsuit reportedly states.

“She has begun to deliver on her campaign promises to retaliate against the NRA for constitutionally protected speech on issues that James opposes. As NYAG, James has regrettably succumbed to ‘individual passions, and individual malevolence.’”

The suit reportedly adds, “There can be no doubt that the James’s actions against the NRA are motivated and substantially caused by her hostility toward the NRA’s political advocacy.”

This belief appears to be shared by many, including …

Members of the Republican Attorneys General Association, which is led by Louisiana AG Ted Landry:

Arizona Rep. Debbie Lesko:

NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre:

Again, the issue isn’t her allegations that top NRA executives have been using the non-profit as a “personal piggy bank” to pay for “trips for them and their families to the Bahamas, private jets, and expensive meals” but rather her decision to target the entire organization. Though to be clear, the NRA denies the allegations.

According to the organization’s countersuit, its “finances are more robust than ever, and it operates to a high standard of compliance.”

But none of this seems to matter, and to hear New York NRA board member Tom King tell it, that’s because a lawsuit against the organization has always been in the works.

“I was told [New York Gov.] Cuomo would use every resource to pursue his lifelong dream of defeating the NRA, and an ‘investigation’ of our Association was on the horizon,” he reportedly said in an emailed statement to the media.

“I always expected better of the governor, and hoped he would rise up to honor the principles under which he was elected. I feel compelled to share this story today for all who hoped this state would put its people first—not use them as pawns to advance Cuomo’s partisan agenda.”

Responding to the news of James’ suit, President Donald Trump issued a statement Thursday afternoon suggesting that the NRA should just ditch New York altogether and set up shop in Texas instead.

Listen:

Texas AG Ken Paxton seems to be quite fond of the idea:

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Vivek Saxena
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