Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called for an investigation into the National Rifle Association to determine if the gun manufacturer lobbyist attempted to defraud courts by filing a fraudulent bankruptcy claim to avoid liability in a number of legal probes, the Associated Press reports.
In May, federal judge rejected the NRA’s claims that it was financial insolvent, citing as evidence claims by NRA leadership that they were in a strong financial condition and they put the organization into bankruptcy so they could avoid New York state litigation and reorganize in Texas.
“They recently told the judicial branch of government that they are bankrupt after the lawsuit by Tish James, and at the same time they’re saying they’re bankrupt, they’re spending millions of dollars on ads to stop universal background checks,” Schumer said, referencing New York Attorney General Letitia James. “That demands an investigation by the Justice Department.”
Schumer cited the NRA’s continued excessive spending on lobbying issues, including more than a quarter million dollars on advertising in West Virginia to push the state’s residents to urge Democratic West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin to oppose the nomination of gun control advocate David Chipman to run the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives.