James Sheehan, the charities bureau chief for @NewYorkStateAG, says that they plan to finish questioning LaPierre today.
James Sheehan starts questioning LaPierre about flights that he had to pay back in part.
Q: You don't know the basis for calculating percentage of the amount that you had to pay back?
A: No, I did not do the calculation.
NYAG's counsel to Wayne LaPierre
Q: You've flown exclusively by private charter for several years.
A: That's correct.
LaPierre testifies that he has picked up his niece on private flights, on the NRA's dime.
Sheehan asks whether the NRA paid tens of thousands of dollars for a hair stylist for Wayne LaPierre's wife.
"I don't know what the NRA paid for," LaPierre responds, before adding unresponsive commentary later stricken by the judge.
NYAG's counsel to Wayne LaPierre:
Q: Were you disciplined for receiving excess benefits?
A: I learned something that I did not know.
(Counsel objects at answer as unresponsive, and LaPierre tries again.)
A: Yes, I was disciplined. I paid it back.
Sheehan is now questioning LaPierre about Joshua Powell, the NRA's ex-second-in-command.
Questioning turns to Oliver North, who LaPierre acknowledges attended his wedding.
Note: They since had a falling out, with the NRA accusing North of plotting a coup attempt against the group's leadership.
When NRA president, Oliver North sent a letter to the audit committee questioning billing by the Brewer firm & accusing LaPierre of financial improprieties.
Sheehan asks whether LaPierre opposed North's relection after that.
"This whole thing is a contrived narrative," LP snaps
NYAG's counsel James Sheehan has that defensive answer as non-responsive.
Judge Hale reminds LaPierre that the NRA's counsel will have the opportunity to question him.
Questioning turns to Ackerman McQueen, the NRA's longtime PR firm, which is now also opposing the gun group's bankruptcy petition:
"I believe that they tried to extort me when I wouldn't back off on trying to see their books and records," LaPierre claimed.
NYAG's Sheehan asks LaPierre about his travel and entertainment expenses for the NRA since 2015.
Q: It's over a million dollars isn't it?
A: I traveled all the time for the NRA. It could be in that range.
Sheehan asks whether some of the expenses were paid through the NRA's ex-PR firm Ackerman McQueen.
LaPierre concedes that's possible.
Same pattern:
Wayne LaPierre continues defensive outbursts in response to questions by NYAG's counsel. The judge chides him, and the NRA's own lawyer reminds him to stick to yes or no answers, when possible.
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Gruber is now rolling tape from LaPierre's March 23rd deposition, where he cited the NYAG's action to dissolve the NRA or put it into receivership as the reason to file for bankruptcy.
NRA's general counsel John Frazer previously testified that he did not know that he did not know Wayne LaPierre's contract allowed him to file Chapter 11, Gruber notes.
Gruber asks LaPierre about that.
LaPierre: "I don't know what Mr. Frazer understood at that point."
Wayne LaPierre has now taken the stand in the NRA bankruptcy trial. Here is our preview story on his testimony, which will be updated throughout the day.
James Sheehan, the @NewYorkStateAG's charities chief, is currently grilling him.
Q: Is it true you send no emails?
A: That's correct.
Q: Is it true that you send no texts?
A: That's correct.
Sheehan asks LaPierre about whether he filed the bankruptcy petition to dodge the NYAG suit.
"We filed this bankruptcy to look for a fair legal playing field where the the NRA can prosper and grow," LaPierre claims, calling the New York atmosphere toxic and weaponized.
In the clip at the top of the thread, Ms. Albert was talking about the legacy of the SCOTUS ruling in Shelby County. She talked about what's at stake in the Brnovich case heard earlier this month here.
In the Maxwell decision, the phrase "sensational and impure" is cited to the Second Circuit case U.S. v. Amodeo, decided in 1995 and governing public access issues, including for SDNY.
That case, in turn, cites another case for that language.
That citation goes to the Supreme Court of Rhode Island from 1893, a state court decision outside the Second Circuit's jurisdiction from the turn of the century.
Back then, a reporter wanted divorce records, the judges found, to satisfy mere curiosity. casetext.com/case/request-o…
🚨The IC found Russian military fingerprints behind the Burisma narrative:
"In late 2019, GRU cyber actors conducted a phishing campaign against subsidiaries of Burisma holdings, likely in an attempt to gather information related to President Biden's family and Burisma."
The IC found multiple men tied to both Trump allies and Russian intelligence gravitating around Ukraine narratives, including Paul Manafort's associate Konstantin Kilimnik and Rudy Giuliani-tied Andriy Derkach.
These details have been woven into the updated story above.