NEW YORK CITY – Day one of the State of New York v. National Rifle Association trial wrapped up late Monday afternoon without the NRA having presented their defense and rebuttal of a very lengthy and possibly over-detailed opening from the Attorney General’s prosecutor on the case.
To anyone who’s followed this case since the beginning, the facts, figures, and names of the defendants and board members who backed Wayne LaPierre through thick and thin, while allegedly thickening their own wallets in the process, were all too familiar.
LaPierre, Powell, Frazier, et al. were prominently featured in prosecutors’ illustrations with a long list of board members who had propped up the LaPierre administration — what prosecutor Monica Connell called “Wayne’s World” — all while allegedly profiting, directly or indirectly, via insider dealings that were specifically forbidden under the NRA’s own policies.
However, watching the prosecution’s opening remarks without the tempering of the defense’s rebuttal is a lot like declaring a football game over at halftime. Tomorrow, the defense’s attorneys will present their counter arguments. What those arguments are and how effective their strategy will be remains to be seen. We’ll begin to find that out when court reconvenes at 9:30 tomorrow morning.
We’ll keep you posted posted.