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Meet The Shady Secret Money Group Helping The NRA Buy Up Judges And Attorneys General
Meet The Shady Secret Money Group Helping The NRA Buy Up Judges And Attorneys General
By Billy Corriher
As the nation engages in a long-overdue debate about gun violence, ThinkProgress has documented examples of how the NRA’s influence over Congress and public opinion may be exaggerated. The NRA may, however, exercise more influence in state elections, where candidates are less well known and political ads can have more impact. The NRA has funneled millions of dollars to a front group that spends its money electing judges and state attorneys general who are tough on crime—unless those crimes involve gun control laws.
The Law Enforcement Alliance of America (LEAA) was founded with NRA funding in 1991. The LEAA opposes common-sense measures such as background checks and keeping guns away from people on the federal government’s “Terrorist Watchlist.”
The LEAA adamantly refuses to disclose its donors, but the NRA’s tax documents reveal that it gave the group at least $2 million between 2004 and 2010. Previous reports say the NRA gave the group $500,000 annually from 1995 to 2004, which would total more than $6 million.
The LEAA, in turn, has spent big on state supreme court races, shelling out millions of dollars for attack ads that distorted the rulings of judges in criminal cases. One judge was accused of “voting for” a rapist and a “baby killer.” An African American judge in Michigan was described as “soft on crime for rappers, lawyers, and child pornographers.” The LEAA’s attack ads helped give Republicans a majority on high courts in Pennsylvania and Michigan.
- more -
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/02/14/1591381/meet-the-shady-secret-money-group-helping-the-nra-buy-up-judges-and-attorneys-general/
By Billy Corriher
As the nation engages in a long-overdue debate about gun violence, ThinkProgress has documented examples of how the NRA’s influence over Congress and public opinion may be exaggerated. The NRA may, however, exercise more influence in state elections, where candidates are less well known and political ads can have more impact. The NRA has funneled millions of dollars to a front group that spends its money electing judges and state attorneys general who are tough on crime—unless those crimes involve gun control laws.
The Law Enforcement Alliance of America (LEAA) was founded with NRA funding in 1991. The LEAA opposes common-sense measures such as background checks and keeping guns away from people on the federal government’s “Terrorist Watchlist.”
The LEAA adamantly refuses to disclose its donors, but the NRA’s tax documents reveal that it gave the group at least $2 million between 2004 and 2010. Previous reports say the NRA gave the group $500,000 annually from 1995 to 2004, which would total more than $6 million.
The LEAA, in turn, has spent big on state supreme court races, shelling out millions of dollars for attack ads that distorted the rulings of judges in criminal cases. One judge was accused of “voting for” a rapist and a “baby killer.” An African American judge in Michigan was described as “soft on crime for rappers, lawyers, and child pornographers.” The LEAA’s attack ads helped give Republicans a majority on high courts in Pennsylvania and Michigan.
- more -
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/02/14/1591381/meet-the-shady-secret-money-group-helping-the-nra-buy-up-judges-and-attorneys-general/
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