| It might seem that everyone in the country’s attention is focused on what’s going on on Capitol Hill this week.
Unfortunately, that’s not the case.
Much of the country and virtually all the media may be focused on the impeachment exercise, but not the Attorney General’s office for the State of New York.
They’re quietly continuing their investigations into the National Rifle Association.
Their ongoing investigations have included deposing current and former NRA Board members.
They’ve continued collecting depositions this week.
Having spoken with several of the current/former Board Members who have just been deposed, questioning in those depositions have led to a common conclusion: each person deposed has been surprised at the level of detail and specificity of the questions they’ve been asked.
General questions quickly give way to very specific ones. Those have revolved around some now-familiar names inside the organization’s current and former senior leadership.
What I’ve been told does nothing to assuage my growing concerns about the future of the organization we’ve all counted on to defend the Second Amendment on a national level.
If anything, the direction of the questioning adds to more concern. It would appear the ultimate goal isn’t to correct problems inside the NRA. Or even to distract the organization’s leadership during the 2020 election cycle.
The ultimate goal, it seems, is dismantling the entire organization.
The questions seem to frame a simple theme: despite claims otherwise, the 76-member Board -with a few exceptions (more on that in a second)- was both ignorant and powerless. And those few exceptions followed – and continue to follow – the marching orders issued by Wayne LaPierre.
I’m no pundit, but this sounds suspiciously like the New York Attorney General’s Office has already constructed their prosecutorial framework.
Now, they’re simply collecting reinforcing information and testimony to help further formulate their courtroom strategy and counter arguments they’ll face there.
Since virtually everyone involved in this sad affair has “lawyered up” it’s tough to get much detail on anything -and impossible to get quotes for attribution.
No one wants to make their personal situation worse by speaking on the record.
As many as 90 current and former Board members have apparently been told they face possible indictments in New York. Potential charges range from breach of fiduciary duty to tax fraud.
There’s no upside to drawing attention to yourself.
But there’s no way the rest of us can afford to ignore what appears to be a growing threat to an organization that even in its besieged state, is key to protecting all our rights.
We’ll keep you posted.
—Jim Shepherd |
