ALBANY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo struck back today at President Donald Trump in an escalating war of words over the New York attorney general's recently launched investigation of the National Rifle Association.
In a pair of morning tweets, Trump said the NRA was "under siege by Cuomo and the New York State A.
G." and accused them of abusing their legal authority to target the group."So much litigation. The NRA should leave and fight from the outside of this very difficult to deal with (unfair) State!" Trump said in his follow-up tweet.
In response, Cuomo released a statement saying "the only thing illegal is the gun lobby's insurance scheme," and noting the incidence in mass gun violence in the United State over the past several years.
"You have done nothing but tweet about it," Cuomo said. "The scourge of gun violence is a national crisis plaguing our country and killing our children. It demands action. And action, Mr. President, requires true leadership."
Attorney General Tish James's office on Friday announced it was investigating the NRA over allegations of self-dealing that potentially threaten the organization's nonprofit status.
The Cuomo administration is engaged in a legal battle with the NRA stemming from the Department of Financial Service's attempts to penalize companies that offered an NRA-backed insurance product that's illegal in the state.
The NRA has also been roiled by an internal fracas that led its president, Oliver North, to resign over the weekend after losing a power struggle with long-time chief executive Wayne LaPierre.
A spokesperson for James did not have an immediate comment on the back-and-forth between Cuomo and Trump.
Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine