As Karen Carpenter sang, “Rainy days and Mondays always get me down.”
There is nothing I can do about the calendar nor the weather but here is a little something to lighten up your Monday morning especially after a long weekend of serious posting about the NRA.
this is so dumb I love it 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/yoyfOeNM8P
— Rock (@TheCensoredRock) January 5, 2024
If you read the comments from the anti-gun forces yesterday on the resignation of Wayne LaPierre, you would have thought it was all their doing. Moreover, they think this portends a shift in attitudes towards gun control such that gun owners will now joyfully join with the prohibitionists to urge passage of nonsensical gun control laws.
The tweet below and the response is the reality.
It doesn't at all, except that an organization that's been largely meaningless the last 10 years may start to restructure to become meaningful again.
— 2A History (@2aHistory) January 5, 2024
If anything.. your side should be worried. LaPierre was a dinosaur who liked the status quo.
The new org might not be.
I’ve long said to the Complementary Spouse that the gun prohibitionists are not going to like what they get if they destroy the NRA. The successor organizations such as GOA, SAF, and FPC will be much less likely to want to compromise on the Second Amendment. Now is the time for the NRA to get its act together, reform the Board, and become the meaningful organization in terms of both training and 2A advocacy that it can be.
Josh Powell came to terms with the New York Attorney General’s Office and will be dismissed with prejudice from the case once the deal is approved by Judge Joel Cohen.
Under the terms of Stipulation of Settlement, Powell will:
Provided that Powell keeps to the terms of the stipulations, the Attorney General’s Office will dismiss him from the lawsuit with prejudice. They will also consider it a resolution of all claims against him. The agreement then goes into great detail of what would be considered a breach or voiding of the agreement including denying that the case is without factual basis. If the agreement if breached or voided by Powell, he can expect the AG’s Office to come after him with a vengeance.
We have been expecting this for a few days. The only surprise to me is that Powell now resides in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Using Google Maps street view, it appears to be in a building with a wine shop on the first floor next to a Wendy’s.
I have embedded the full Statement of Stipulation and Order of Dismissal below.
Click on “show more” to get the full release posted on X or what used to be called Twitter by the NRA on Wayne’s resignation and the elevation of PR flack Andrew Arulanandam to interim CEO.
NRA EVP Wayne LaPierre Announces Resignation from NRA
— NRA (@NRA) January 5, 2024
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
Just minutes ago it was announced that Wayne LaPierre would resign as Executive VP and CEO of the National Rifle Association effective January 31st. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, health is the cited reason for his resignation.
Fox News has this from the released statement:
“With pride in all that we have accomplished, I am announcing my resignation from the NRA,” LaPierre said in the NRA’s press release, which was exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital. “I’ve been a card-carrying member of this organization for most of my adult life, and I will never stop supporting the NRA and its fight to defend Second Amendment freedom. My passion for our cause burns as deeply as ever.”
The report goes on to say that Andrew Arulanandam will serve as interim CEO and EVP of the NRA. As was told to me a month ago, Arulandandam was considered an “acolyte” of Bill Brewer which does not bode well for the NRA.
LaPierre had this to say about Arulanandam as his successor according to Fox:
What makes the NRA unlike any other advocacy organization is the depth and experience of its professional team, the unwavering support of its members, and its fighting spirit. I have enormous confidence in our board of directors, executive leadership team, and my long-time colleague Andrew Arulanandam. Andrew knows every facet of this organization and has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with me in every arena imaginable. Andrew knows how to help the NRA win – he’s been one of the key authors of our playbook for decades,”
There had been some speculation about the called Board of Directors meeting being held in Dallas today. One was whether they were going to declare bankruptcy again. While that is still in the cards given their financial issues, it is obvious that having Wayne resign on the eve of the trial “for health reasons” is part of the legal strategy going forward. I have heard that many on the Board were surprised by Wayne’s resignation. However, I am told that when Wayne took the microphone last night at the Chairman’s cocktail party, it was pretty much a goodbye speech.
A former director speculated to me that they thought this was a move to get a settlement with a wrist slap and the Board “will continue stupid”. Unfortunately, he may be correct.
As this is a developing story, I am sure I will have more later.
Josh Powell replied to the court’s inquiry yesterday by email. The reply confirmed one thing that is in the works. Powell is trying to work a deal with the New York Attorney General’s Office. If you look at the third item in his response, you see he hopes that by the end of this week that a “stipulation of settlement” and an “order of dismissal” will be entered.
As I noted with regard to the New York Times article, Powell is the most vulnerable of the defendants in the case. Thus, it is not surprising that he is seeking a settlement with the Attorney General’s Office.
Powell states he is not able to retain counsel. He goes on to say that he was informed that the NRA’s D&O (Directors and Officers) insurance coverage will not cover his legal bills and that any leftover monies will go to pay the NRA’s fees. What this tells me is that given Powell has crossed the NRA with his tell-all book they are hanging him out to dry. It is also a not so subtle warning to anyone else such as former First VP Willes Lee they better stick to the NRA’s party line as promulgated by Bill Brewer or else they will suffer the consequences.
Judge Joel Cohen issued a court notice yesterday asking, in essence, if Josh Powell or his attorneys intended to show up for jury selection and the trial. Given jury selection started on Tuesday, January 2nd, I take it that neither Powell nor an attorney representing him showed up for it.
You may remember that his prior attorneys, Akin Gump, dropped him for what appeared to be a failure to pay his legal bills. Indications at that time were that Powell was then going to act pro se or as his own attorney.
Now I have to wonder if he will just default by not showing up for the trial. It would be foolish to do so especially if he had been trying to cut a deal with the New York Attorney General’s Office. Oh, well, more than one former director has told me that Powell was not the sharpest knife in the drawer.
Danny Hakim has been the lead New York Times reporter covering the NRA and its problems. He has a story out today on the trial entitled, “LaPierre, Longtime N.R.A. Leader, Faces Trial That Could End His Reign.”
The article is primarily an overview of the lawsuit from the beginning with nothing new revealed that readers here don’t already know. That is, except for this little tidbit buried in the story.
The attorney general’s office has had settlement talks with Mr. Powell, a person with knowledge of the case said, but no deal has been announced.
That news should not be surprising. Powell has appeared throughout his entire business career to be a survivor despite his many failed business ventures. If his tell-all book was any indication, he will say or do anything in order to survive. Given he is now acting pro se or as his own attorney in this case due to an inability to pay or afford his legal bills, he is the most vulnerable of the defendants in the case. Besides, how much money does the NY Attorney General’s Office realistically expect to reclaim from him. As the old saying goes, you can’t squeeze blood from a turnip.
H/T A.M.
In just a few minutes jury selection in People of New York v. National Rifle Association of America et al will commence. It has been almost three and half years since the New York Attorney General’s Office and its Charity Bureau filed suit against the NRA, Wayne LaPierre, Woody Phillips, John Frazer, and Josh Powell.
As of this morning, 2,641 motions, exhibits, letters, witness lists, transcripts, court notices, and other documents have been filed with the Clerk of the Supreme Court for New York County. This includes 65 documents that were filed with the court over the weekend and through this morning from both sides. I anticipate we will see more motions and letters to Judge Cohen filed as the day progresses.
This leads to an interesting question. Do the attorneys for the NRA and the four defendants charge extra for working over the weekend or does it just run up the number of billable hours?
Further, while the attorney fees for Wayne LaPierre and John Frazer will probably be covered under indemnification agreements with the NRA for their actions while serving as officers, what about Woody Phillips and Josh Powell? Will they be reimbursed? They are being sued for actions they took while working either directly or indirectly for the NRA. We know Powell is now acting as his own attorney as he can’t afford the attorney fees out of pocket. Regardless of how many will get their attorney fees reimbursed, it is still all member’s money down the drain after the D&O policy pays their little bit.
I think Judge Joel Cohen is getting a little bit aggravated by NRA’s attorneys attempts to delay the trial before it starts.
The attorneys for the NRA, primarily Noah Peters, are trying to argue that the term “properly administered” is unconstitutionally vague. The term is used in New York’s Estates, Powers
and Trusts Law (“EPTL”) § 8-1.4(m) which provides the basis for the First Cause of Action against the NRA in the NY Attorney General’s amended complaint. In my layman’s opinion, properly administered means you don’t buy suits for Wayne, pay for hair and makeup for Susan, or take free trips from major vendors.
Reading the letters to the judge from both the NYAG and Peters, it appears that this motion to dismiss the First Cause of Action is the fourth such attempt. New York wants to respond to this motion 30 days after the jury delivers a verdict while Peters and the NRA want it ASAP. Both of these letters were sent yesterday.
You may remember that on the Friday before Christmas Judge Cohen had given the NRA a lump of coal when he told them to stop screwing around. He told them then that they could have made this motion months earlier and that he didn’t anticipate delaying trial preparation to give it any attention. Nonetheless, attorneys for the NRA as shown above have continued on their quest to delay.
Today, Judge Cohen issued another notice with regard to the aforementioned letters that the briefing and hearing schedule on the NRA’s motion is stayed until further notice.
From the Court Notice:
The Court has reviewed the NRA and OAG letters regarding the briefing schedule for the NRA’s recently filed motion to dismiss (NYSCEF 2569, 2570). The NRA’s concerns about the timing for briefing this belated and procedurally questionable motion ring hollow, as it is a circumstance entirely of its own making. The Court remains far more concerned about the motion interfering with the trial rather than the other way around. Until further order of the Court, the briefing and hearing schedule on this motion is stayed. The Court will discuss the schedule with the parties during a break in jury selection the week of January 2, 2024.
As I said, I’m just a mere layman when it comes to the law. However, when a judge calls your motion “procedurally questionable” and that your concerns “ring hollow”, he is telling you to knock it off. To continually ignore his plainly given signals as the NRA’s attorneys have done is both arrogant and stupid. This case is finally coming to trial almost 3 1/2 years after it began and Judge Cohen is not going to let anything that could have been done months ago delay it further. Bill Brewer and his group of lawyers need to recognize that and move on.
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