NRA Board Retroactively Approves Bankruptcy Plan as Trial Approaches

DALLAS—The National Rifle Association's board of directors retroactively approved the group's bankruptcy plan after an emergency meeting on Sunday.

The decision was not without drama: Board members locked themselves behind closed doors in an "executive session" for hours before delivering the final verdict, and executive vice president Wayne LaPierre left through a separate exit from where press was waiting.

A copy of the resolution obtained by the Washington Free Beacon said the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing initiated by LaPierre in January advances "the best interests of the NRA, its members, and its mission." The board addressed questions on the legitimacy of the bankruptcy raised by New York attorney general Letitia James (D.)—who has moved to scuttle the bankruptcy to advance her prosecution of the group in state court—by saying the declaration is "authorized, directed and ratified" by the board. The resolution further approved the appointment of attorney Bill Brewer's law firm as the group's general bankruptcy counsel in a rebuke to conflict of interest allegations made by the Department of Justice.