5 ms·
The NRA has expected it would be targeted (whether justly or not) for years. Which is why must fundraising hasn't gone directly to the NRA in probably 20 years
by beerandt 6y ago
The NRA has expected it would be targeted (whether justly or not) for years.
Which is why must fundraising hasn't gone directly to the NRA in probably 20 years, but to other, financially separate entities, like "Friends of the NRA." The segregation isn't arbitrary for legal purposes of piercing the corporate veil because these entities have more specific and specialized purposes, like safety training programs and responsible ownership initiatives.
I don't know if the strategy will end up working. In fact, I suspect it's made the NRA's finances look even more suspect, since it's basically designed to absorb liability without accumulating donations.
But even if they aren't able to "move" to Texas, I expect there's little direct extractable value from NRA proper, other than the bad PR of the continued investigation. Which of course, will also be used as a reason to send more donations and support.
- Rebelgecko 6y agoI think for tax and organizational purposes there's legit reasons to have your PAC, lobbying group, and your 501c3 organizations separate from the overarching 501c4. IIRC any donations to the mothership aren't tax deductible, but a donation to Friends of the NRA would be
- beerandt 6y agoYea- I didn't mean to imply any illegitimacy. Just that they're more prepared for this than most people realize, and more than the article implies. Everyone considers taxes when setting these things up. Not everyone considers surviving major legal and political attacks.
- masonic 6y agoFriends of the NRA isn't "separate". What's separate is the lobbying arm -- the Institute for Legislative Action, and it always has been separate. LaPierre's corruption is why there was a takeover of the Board majority by actual activists (the Knox faction) in the early 1990s. That's when Tanya Metaksa led ILA.
- technologist2 6y agoIf the NRA is a target, it is because they painted the red circles on themselves. https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/The%20NRA%20%20Russia%20-%20How%20a%20Tax-Exempt%20Organization%20Became%20a%20Foreign%20Asset.pdf https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/The%20NRA%20%20... And if you don't trust the US Senate, just use duckduckgo or whatever and just put in "NRA Russia" and check out all the stories and photos of them gladhanding Russian agents in Moscow and the checks they got from it that went into NRA accounts.
- wtfiswiththis 6y agoTheir goose was cooked years ago. Now they don't have the cover of a certain someone's department of justice. If they are running to Texas for these reasons, and I suspect they are, there are truly some interesting events in court ahead of us.