NRA Foundation is a DC corporation, and the DC Attorney General has challenged its actions in deciding to lend several million to NRA itself. The argument is that most of the Foundation’s directors are also NRA directors, and so have a conflict of interest when the two entities have dealings. As NRA directors, they must look to the good of NRA, and it desperately needs loans. As Foundation directors, they must look to the good of the Foundation, and only lend money if it’s the best investment opportunity. Handing an unsecured loan to a corporation on the edge of insolvency is not that.
We are told that the DC case is scheduled for mediation September 13 and for trial on January 24. Since the judge in the NY case has indicated he wants to try that case this Fall, that trial will come first.
As far as NRA’s 2023 budget, which predicted that legal expenses would fall in 2023. . . . That obviously isn’t going to happen. The NY case will take weeks or months to try, with NRA paying for at least three teams of NYC attorneys. The DC case will take weeks. Neither NYC nor DC attorneys come cheaply, we’re talking teams of attorneys, each one with a billing rate of $600-$1,000 per hour (NRA’s lead attorney bills at $1,400 per hour).
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NRA in Danger 
Based on the recent revelations by the NY Attorney General of ineptness by the NRA board of directors, it appears that ineptness was carried over to the NRA Foundation and now the foundation is under siege by the DC Attorney General.
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I think that some might have forgotten the DC case against the foundation. The whole thing is such a mess that it gives me a headache. Just when you think that you can’t get more pissed, they bring up one more piece of information, and kick the whole thing one more time. Just like the board planning on voting to keep Cotton one more year. Sort of like telling the doctor not to pull the nail out of your finger that you accidently shot through it with the nail gun, until next week, to make sure that the antibiotic they use is the right one.
I don’t blame anyone who abandoned the NRA, but I hope that things turn out that they can come back and fix it in the end. I don’t hold out a lot of hope, the more I see.
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The timing is disappointing, and bad for the NRA Foundation. As I’ve said, I agree with Rocky Marshall’s assessment and expect the NRA to declare bankruptcy soon. The DC suit isn’t just about unwise, unsecured loans from the Foundation to NRA. It also is challenging all sorts of payments and monies being redirected to NRA under all sorts of sketchy pretenses. The DC AG has suggested that as much as $400 million was improperly funneled from the Foundation to the Association over a number of years.
The key thing about the suit is that, unlike the NY AG, the DC AG is not asking for the Foundation to be dissolved or damaged. He’s asking for some restructuring of the Board of Trustees and the Foundation’s financial policies, some training for Trustees, and for the Foundation to be forced to take action to try and recoup all monies improperly transferred or loaned to the NRA.
That would mean the Foundation suing the Association.
It would be better for the Foundation if all of this were to happen last year, not next year. If NRA does indeed declare bankruptcy — again, the Foundation might have a claim as a creditor for the several millions they loaned NRA, but any other money owed to them by NRA will be almost impossible to get, and even those loans will probably be pushed far down on the bankruptcy court’s list of creditors, since it’s an affiliated foundation.
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Thank you, Mr. Knox. Does your Firearms Coalition do digging and reporting into the other gun rights orgs, or if not would you point out who does? I follow you on Twitter, I just read and comment here (partly to get my thoughts in order, partly to vent of course), and I believe you know GunWebsites, maybe you know FuddBusters (both YouTube brands)
“Do the Pratts act more like the Dorrs?”, ’cause I don’t want to give to NAGR anymore, and if the Pratts are a little sketch I wouldn’t want to give to them anymore either.
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Jeff why isn’t this being prosecuted under RICO?
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Hidden in the asset details are museum firearms collections that were donated to the NRA Foundation over the years. Several entities hold title to certain collections, but the NRA Foundation holds the largest. At one point the museum endowment, which included gifts from Beretta and others, was in the millions, but is no longer shown.
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I’m not sure there will be anything left to mediate by September. I just hope there will be something left for members to resurrect and rebuild once this is done.
And as was mentioned, the seeming disappearance of the firearms collection may be the saddest of all. Most of those firearms are not replaceable.
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Thank you. Geez, I didn’t know an “NRA Foundation” existed. Knew the “PVF” and of course the “ILA” existed. The hits just keep on coming. Thank you especially for pointing out a fundamental: That a board of directors is tasked to look out for the best interests of what they oversee and approve. Even a pleb like me understands these dual-directors are self-dealing. What a mess.
I know you’re “NRAInDanger”. I don’t read these comments after I’ve done here, but I’d still like to know if there are watchdogs out there for the other “big gun rights org players” (considering that NRA is even now still a behemoth compared to, say, NSSF’s IRS 990) Are the Pratts more like the Dorr Brothers then we realize? Maybe time to review some Ammoland comments, see if John Crump, Cam Edwards, others do this kind of reporting….
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JR, I hesitate to hijack NRAinDanger’s comment section on this, but yes, I know and watch most of the larger rights groups. I’ve never seen anything sketchy about GOA or the Pratts. My only concern with them has been their involvement in other issues, which I think sometimes clouds their efforts on gun rights. I’ve not noticed any of those minor issues in recent years though. The Dorrs are very aggressive and confrontational in their approach, which concerns me at times, and they’ve had some problems with keeping their filings and paperwork in order. They’ve also had some issues with accusations of improper lobbying activities — generally the kind of things the antis get away with all the time — but I’ve not seen any serious financial chicanery in their operations. NAGAR can be very aggressive in their fundraising and they’ve had some personnel issues. I think their leadership is drawing healthy salaries, but not robbing their folks blind. I’ve been disappointed in some of the things they’ve done — and not done — in the arena, sometimes throwing a monkey wrench into the works by jumping into an ongoing situation (similar problems with the Dorrs and especially NRA doing this), but they have been doing some good legal and lobbying work recently and seem to be stabilizing some. NSSF is a trade association and they act like it. They represent people who are dependent on government contract and subject to tight government oversight, so they generally maintain a very diplomatic posture. It’s also important to note that they do not collect $20 donations from Joe Gunowner. Their funding comes directly from the industry.
The gun owner rights world is complicated by the fact that our issue appears to us to be very straightforward and uncomplicated. Every one of us believes that we have “The Answer,” and anyone not doing it our way is either an idiot or a traitor. The reality is, we’re all trying to move in the same direction, just not always by the same route, and infighting among “leaders” has done significant harm over the years. People who should have been lifted up as champions have been torn down, while mediocre and incompetent players have been lifted up, only to fall by their own failings.
Your best bet most of the time, is to support and work with your local grassroots organization as your top priority, and support the efforts of national groups when their agenda matches what you think is best. All will fall short at times, and some might pad their pockets a little more than you or I would think is reasonable, but we’re all only human.
If you have other questions or want to continue this discussion, it’s probably better to do so on Twitter or on The Firearms Coalition website or Facebook page.
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Hi Now I hope everyone sees Why I endorsed Jeff for the 4 for Reform ticket. Knowledgeable and forthright. Thank You Mr. Knox for your service.
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