Barring unforeseen happenings, the trial that pits the State of New York against the National Rifle Association will go to the jury sometime today. After six weeks of allegations and responses, the jury will be given their final charge by Judge Joel Cohen and sent into deliberate the fate of the organization and the three co-defendants Wayne LaPierre, Woody Phillips and John Frazier.
In his final testimony in this trial -this time for the defense- former EVP Wayne LaPierre walked jurors through a personal timeline, from his childhood in Schenectady, New York, through college, and on through his eventual ascension to the EVP’s slot at the NRA. A slot, LaPierre told jurors, he never really wanted, saying he was more comfortable lobbying. “It wasn’t what I loved doing, to tell you the truth,” LaPierre said. The job he didn’t want, he explained, was the reason he found himself facing security risks.
At the same time, LaPierre admitted that it was largely his decision to modify his job from administration to public relations and activism, essentially making himself the “face” of the Association.
“If we were going to be successful in growing the organization,” LaPierre said, “I needed to be out there in front of America…giving speeches all over the country…speaking to donors..I always felt the way the NRA would lose would be if it fell to the fringe.”
So he did that. And, he explained, his associations with celebrities and television appearances essentially erased his anonymity, turning him into a public figure-and bringing security concerns that necessitated his increased security. Risks, he claims, so credible that the FBI advised him to book hotel rooms under other names.
LaPierre’s ability to convince the jury of that assertion is essential to his defense.
Throughout the trial, his attorney has tried to convince the jury LaPierre’s private travel, security details and other spending were essential to his safety. That despite LaPierre having already admitted to having abused the privilege by flying friends and family members around on the NRA’s dime, telling jurors that billing the NRA for the trips was “not the right thing to do.”
From the very outset, New York AG lawyers have hammered their allegation that the 74-year old LaPierre has treated the NRA’s bank accounts as his “personal piggy bank.” The more than $11 million spent on luxury travel and accommodations are tantamount in driving that case home with jurors.
Depending on final arguments and the length of the charge to the jury, it’s not inconceivable that this jury, weary after a long civil trial, may return a verdict quickly.
It’s also not inconceivable that the complicated charges and counters may have confused the jury to the point a verdict is difficult-if not impossible-to reach. That could open the door for further delays as they seek clarification of thorny questions.
Should the verdict go against the defendants, the appeal process, finances permitting, will begin almost immediately. In fact, some members of the NRA Board of Directors were briefed on possible appeals before the defense began presenting its case.
So what happens - short term- if the NRA loses?
Possibilities: Judge Cohen could immediately install an outside supervisor to manage the organization until the internal issues are addressed to the satisfaction of the court.
It’s also possible that Cohen, on advice from the Attorney General’s office take additional action, including dismissing of the entire current board and ordering the NRA membership to hold a new election.
Those possibilities may be one reason why the current NRA board has assembled an EVP search committee composed of what critics call members of the old guard: Congressman Bob Barr, David Coy, Carol Frampton, Curtis Jenkins, Jay Printz, Barbara Rumpel and Blaine Wade. Conspicuously absent on the nominating committee is NRA President Charles Cotton, leading to further speculation that he may be the (preselected) “choice” of the committee.
As far as the individual defendants (LaPierre, Phillips, and Frazier), guilty verdicts would open the issue of recovery of misappropriated funds due to failure in their fiduciary responsibilities.,
The fourth defendant, Josh Powell, cut his deal with the AG’s office just prior to the trial’s opening. In exchange for an admission of guilt to the AG’s claim of wrongdoing and his testimony, Powell was granted a $100,000 settlement agreement.
There’s no way of knowing what “clawbacks” would be sought by the AG’s office against the three other defendants. Or if the court would consider clawbacks from the NRA’s attorneys based on a forensic examination of their fees.
It’s also possible that the verdicts are not unanimous. In other words, there’s nothing absolutely certain at this point.
Should the verdict go against the Association, the court will likely address many internal issues.
Regardless of the outcome, the question of a successor to Wayne LaPierre and the duties that would be entrusted to that new executive is topmost in the minds of many.
We’ve hearing several names tossed around this week.
Two most frequently mentioned are former NRA figures: longtime NRA-ILA head Chris Cox and former Executive Director of General Operations Joe DeBergalis. Both were purged by LaPierre. A third, to the fury of former board members and reformers, is current President Charles Cotton. His many detractors say his elevation would continue the kind of organization created by LaPierre, but enabled by Cotton by his position as chairman of an obviously incapable audit committee.
Other names mentioned- although considerably more quietly- include: Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, W. Laird Hamberlin, CEO of the Safari Club International and Safari Club International Foundation, and the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s SVP for Government & Public Affairs/Secretary and General Counsel, Lawrence Keane.
Until the case is decided, however, those questions will remain unanswered.
We’ll keep you posted.
— Jim Shepherd