In a sly move NRA attorneys are hoping to dodge penalties in the civil corruption trial before it even starts by claiming their leader Wayne LaPierre's sudden resignation proves there is no longer "ongoing and persistent" wrongdoing at the gun lobby.

The gun lobby claims that jurors should hear evidence of the NRA's "course correction," including that LaPierre is on his way out in a recent court filling. The NRA was not LaPierre's enabler, they argued. Rather they were a victim of "former rogue officers" which apparently includes LaPierre.

AG Letitia James was skeptical over the timing of the resignation, just three days before trial. That it was meant to gain an advantage at trial.

After standing with LaPierre for 30 years the gun lobby has suddenly claimed he was a rogue. In her opening statement AG James promised jurors that testimony over the next five weeks would show that loyal NRA employees considered LaPierre as their "king."

Let's stop here for a moment.

Why would the 76-person gun lobby board suddenly decide to un-throne their king of 30-years? The guy is highly popular in the five-million membership non-profit. He was re-elected in 2022 despite the fact he was being investigated for corruption at the time.

My guess is it's an end-run. His supposed resignation is a red herring. As soon as the trial is over, the board can turn around and reinstall the King. 

AG James realizes that, so she is asking the judge to bar the NRA from ever reinstalling him back to his throne. Her reasoning is sound. LaPierre is still going to get in trouble and the NRA is still going to be held accountable regardless of their scheme. 

Loyal LaPierre board members looked the other way and actively enabled his greed, according to AG James.

As it stands, the NRA has been ripping off its membership for three decades. Regardless of the results of this trial I fully expect the group to continue lying and fearmongering to raise funds which will eventually end up in their pockets.