DC attorney general subpoenas NRA financial records in nonprofit investigation

The office of Washington, D.C., Attorney General Karl A. Racine has issued subpoenas for documents including financial records from the National Rifle Association (NRA) and its foundation as part of a probe into whether the organizations violated the city’s Nonprofit Act. 

“The Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia has issued subpoenas to the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) and the NRA Foundation, Inc., as part of an investigation into whether these entities violated the District’s Nonprofit Act,” Racine said in a statement Friday.

“We are seeking documents from these two nonprofits detailing, among other things, their financial records, payments to vendors and payments to officers and directors,” he added.{mosads}

Authorities also subpoenaed documents on payments to the entities’ vendors and officers.

Racine’s office has the authority to bring court actions to dissolve a nonprofit corporation that misuses funds or acts in a way that is contrary to its nonprofit purposes. The subpoenas come amid a year of financial turmoil for the NRA. The group said in a lawsuit filed last August that it is facing financial danger after the state of New York pressured banks and insurance companies to cut ties with the NRA.

And in April, former NRA President Oliver North announced he was leaving the group after The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal reported problems between him and CEO Wayne LaPierre. 

Also in April, New York’s attorney general began an investigation into the NRA’s tax-exempt status. 

William A. Brewer III, counsel for the NRA, told The Hill in a statement that the organization would cooperate with “any appropriate inquiry into its finances.”

“The NRA has full confidence in its accounting practices and commitment to good governance,” he added. “The Association’s financials are audited and its tax filings are verified by one of the most reputable firms in the world. Internally, the Association has an appropriate conflict of interest policy, which provides that all potential conflicts are reviewed and scrutinized by the Audit Committee.”

The Hill has reached out to the attorney general’s office for additional comment.