The remedies phase of the National Rifle Association’s civil corruption trial came to an end on Monday — and like the first phase, it was a barn burner. Unlike the first phase, however, the outcome this time around wasn’t exactly out of the defendants’ favor.
In February, a New York jury found the gun group and its former chief executive Wayne LaPierre liable in the civil corruption case, and ordered LaPierre to pay the group more than $4.3 million in damages. At issue in the second phase — a bench trial to determine the consequences for violating state nonprofit law — was state Attorney General Letitia James’s requests for a court-appointed independent consultant to oversee the NRA’s compliance with nonprofit laws and new regulatory reporting requirements. James sought for LaPierre to be barred from holding leadership roles at the NRA and for John Frazer, the gun group’s former general counsel, to have a more limited role.
While Judge Joel M. Cohen blasted the gun group’s “stunning lack of accountability” to accept its misconduct, he ultimately refused to grant the AG’s request to appoint a monitor — perhaps an unsurprising decision, given that he had expressed a preference for “private remedies” as far back as March. Cohen did ban LaPierre, who resigned as CEO just before the start of the trial in January, from holding any leadership or fiduciary position at the NRA for 10 years, but not for life. And he did not restrict Frazer’s role at all. The judge still has some reforms in mind, however, and wants the parties to negotiate post-trial. Among his suggestions: making it easier to run for the board, tweaking the audit committee, and retaining a compliance consultant. Cohen’s ruling comes after the gun group’s charitable arm agreed to implement oversight and transparency measures to resolve allegations that it diverted millions of dollars in donor funds to resolve a lawsuit brought by the District of Columbia.
The rhetoric in the courtroom was provocative throughout the trial. On Day One, an expert witness for the state described the NRA’s policy manual as a “dumpster fire.” LaPierre said that appointing a monitor would be the “equivalent to putting a knife straight through the heart of the organization and twisting it.” In his closing statement, LaPierre’s lawyer called the suggested ban “unconstitutional” and read a quote from President Teddy Roosevelt. Testimony also revealed cracks in the NRA’s new leadership — primarily between LaPierre allies and board members from a “reform” bloc. With both phases of the trial now behind them, this mix of the old and new guard is now fully tasked with arresting a financial collapse and beating back the gun interest groups that have moved to fill in the NRA’s void.
From The Trace
In November 2017, a senior pastor at a Virginia megachurch frequented by D.C.’s Republican elite formed a nonprofit called Act2Impact. Dale Sutherland’s organization was, at the time, described in state records as an “auxiliary” of McLean Bible Church, with a mission to conduct evangelical outreach and “preach the gospel.” Within just a few years, the nonprofit’s name, mission, and influence would change dramatically — turning from an organization dedicated to spreading the good word to one facilitating a far-reaching, multimillion-dollar legal campaign to dismantle America’s gun laws.
A couple years after establishing Act2Impact, Sutherland left the church and changed the nonprofit’s name to the Constitutional Defense Fund, revising its mission into one meant to “promote and secure” constitutional rights, including through litigation. Around the same time, he adopted a new moniker, “The Undercover Pastor.” His website reads: “Buying cocaine and preaching Jesus. A weird combo.”
In the years since Sutherland rechristened his nonprofit, the Constitutional Defense Fund has collected $12 million in cash and funneled nearly $10 million to two connected gun rights groups and a D.C. law firm, Cooper & Kirk, which together have filed at least 21 lawsuits since 2020 that challenged gun restrictions. These lawsuits, aimed at getting an eventual Supreme Court hearing, concern bans on AR-15-style rifles and high-capacity magazines, as well as restrictions on young adults buying and carrying handguns.
The Trace’s Will Van Sant has spent the past two years trying to piece together this network and chart its workings — and figuring out how an undercover pastor became the unlikely middleman for a covertly funded operation to abolish gun laws. In his latest investigation, published in partnership with Mother Jones, Van Sant explains what he learned.
What to Know Today
Six years after eight students and two teachers were killed at Santa Fe High School, victims of the mass shooting, which took place near Houston, are getting their day in court. Plaintiffs are seeking more than $1 million in damages in a civil lawsuit against the alleged shooter and his parents, who owned the guns their son used in the massacre. The suspected shooter was charged with capital murder but has not faced a criminal trial, due to multiple psychiatric evaluations that have found him not mentally competent to do so. [Houston Public Media]
Why did it take hundreds of law enforcement officers two days to find the body of the man who killed 18 people in a gun rampage in Lewiston, Maine, last October, despite repeated tips about the location? Documents point to inefficiencies and miscommunications, and raise questions about whether Maine police were adequately prepared to respond — and whether they’d be ready to respond to a similar situation today. [Portland Press Herald]
President Joe Biden on Monday officially called on Congress to pass sweeping reforms to the Supreme Court. He proposed establishing 18-year term limits and a binding code of conduct for justices that would require them to disclose gifts, refrain from public political activity, and recuse themselves from cases in which they or their spouses have conflicts of interest. The current high court is the most conservative in recent memory, and issued rulings that have upended, struck down, and threatened gun regulations nationwide. [The Washington Post/Reuters]
Law enforcement officers noticed the shooter who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump nearly 100 minutes before he opened fire at a campaign rally, text messages obtained by The New York Times reveal. The messages also indicate that the shooter was aware that police were watching him, and was often a step ahead of security forces. Officials in Butler County, Pennsylvania, where the shooting took place, have refused to release 911 call recordings from the scene that could shed further light on law enforcement actions at the rally. [The New York Times/The Intercept]
Earlier this month, a federal appeals court ruled that a Minnesota law barring people under 21 from applying to carry a handgun in public violates the Second Amendment. It’s not yet clear if the state attorney general will appeal the decision, and for now, the law remains in effect. But if the office chooses to challenge the ruling, the case could reach the Supreme Court. [Sahan Journal]
Newly released records describe nine separate incidents of SIG Sauer’s P320 pistol allegedly firing unintentionally at Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force bases between September 2020 and June 2023. The records echo the claims made in many of the lawsuits against the gunmaker involving its flagship handgun. More than 100 people have alleged that their P320s fired without the trigger being pulled. [New Hampshire Public Radio]
Archive
How Minnesota Became the Surprising Success Story of Gun Reform
After a sweeping electoral victory, state Democrats seized “a once-in-a-generation opportunity” to reimagine gun violence prevention. (July 2023)
