President Trump on Monday said that the National Rifle Association (NRA) is “under siege by Cuomo and the New York State A.G.,” who he accused of “illegally using the State’s legal apparatus to take down and destroy this very important organization.”
The NRA must “get its act together quickly, stop the internal fighting, & get back to GREATNESS – FAST!” Trump concluded.
The NRA is under siege by Cuomo and the New York State A.G., who are illegally using the State’s legal apparatus to take down and destroy this very important organization, & others. It must get its act together quickly, stop the internal fighting, & get back to GREATNESS – FAST!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 29, 2019
In a subsequent Monday tweet, Trump said: “People are fleeing New York State because of high taxes and yes, even oppression of sorts. They didn’t even put up a fight against SALT – could have won. So much litigation. The NRA should leave and fight from the outside of this very difficult to deal with (unfair) State!”
….People are fleeing New York State because of high taxes and yes, even oppression of sorts. They didn’t even put up a fight against SALT – could have won. So much litigation. The NRA should leave and fight from the outside of this very difficult to deal with (unfair) State!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 29, 2019
Trump’s tweets come after New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office announced on Saturday that her office had launched an investigation into the NRA and issued subpoenas to the organization, following reports of an internal dispute between the group’s president, Oliver North, and its CEO, Wayne LaPierre – in which North accused LaPierre of financial malfeasance, including misappropriating $200,000 of NRA funds to purchase clothing from an NRA vendor, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Mr. North, in a letter read to NRA members Saturday morning at the group’s annual meeting in Indianapolis, said he had hoped to be renominated for a second one-year term as president, but “I am now informed that will not happen.”
The departure of Mr. North, a conservative folk hero from his days as an Iran-Contra figure, comes after NRA Chief Executive Wayne LaPierre sent a letter to the NRA board accusing Mr. North of trying to extort him and force him out over allegations of financial improprieties. –Wall Street Journal
According to the Journal, the investigation is focused on “related-party transactions between the NRA and its board members; unauthorized political activity; and potentially false or misleading disclosures in regulatory filings.”
In response to Trump’s tweet, Cuomo (D) tweeted back: “Unlike you, President Trump, New York is not afraid to stand up to the NRA.”
President Trump: 74,600 Americans have died from gun violence since you were elected.
You have done nothing but tweet about it.
Unlike you, NY is not afraid to stand up to the NRA. As for the NRA, we’ll remember them in our thoughts and prayers. https://t.co/zW5dUnH4IB
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) April 29, 2019
As CNBC noted, AG James’ office has pursued Trump’s nonprofit, the Donald J. Trump Foundation, which agreed to dissolve under judicial supervision last year after the previous Attorney General, Barbara Underwood, accused it of a “shocking pattern of illegality.”
In a March filing, James wrote that the foundation broke “some of the most basic laws” related to private foundations. Her office is seeking nearly $3 million in restitution from the foundation.
Trump foundation attorneys have denied the allegations and accused officials in the heavily Democratic state of having political motivations. –CNBC
On Friday, Trump spoke at the annual NRA convention in Indiana.
via ZeroHedge News http://bit.ly/2XV5Rca Tyler Durden