NRA’s Dirty Laundry Exposed as Pro-Gun Group Cleans House

[Swordsmyth]

On April 12, the National Rifle Association filed suit in a Virginia court, accusing their long-time PR company, Ackerman McQueen, of failing to provide detailed billing, and failure to disclose contracts with NRA staff and officers that might demonstrate a conflict of interest, including an Ack-Mac contract with NRA President Ollie North. As the news of the shocking lawsuit made the rounds of mainstream media and was just sinking in – especially to most of the members of the NRA Board of Directors, who had no advance warning about the suit – a new exposé on the shady dealings of NRA insiders was published by The New Yorker (www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/secrecy-self-dealing-and-greed-at-the-nra/). That article, shedding new light on lousy business, showed that this isn’t just NRA leaders in a nasty mess of their own making, but a deeply embedded cancer that has metastasized, putting the NRA itself in serious jeopardy.

During WWII, people held up two fingers and declared “V for Victory!” I have to admit that when I heard the news about the suit against Ack-Mac, I smiled. The thought of NRA brass and Ack-Mac executives going at each other in a cage match really tickled me. In celebration, I figuratively raised the familiar one-finger salute that has long represented our seemingly futile struggle with the NRA leadership, and transitioned it into the two-finger sign of the “V,” not for Victory, but for Vindication.
Over 20 years ago, my father, Neal Knox, as First Vice President of the NRA and just one year away from taking the reins as President, threw a red flag on the practices of Ack-Mac and Wayne LaPierre. He questioned the expensive, intrusive, and heavy-handed fundraising tactics, such as constant, over-hyped letters, phone calls, and fundraising letters sent by registered mail, and the exorbitant sums being paid to the PR company. He demanded reforms in the association’s fundraising methods and specifics on contracts and billing details involving Ack-Mac and other vendors. Both he and Second Vice President Albert Ross refused to sign the hefty, monthly checks being cut to Ack-Mac, and a major battle for control of the NRA ensued. It wasn’t like the 1977 Cincinnati fight for the soul and destiny of the organization. The new dust-up was between the Board and the staff for control of the organization’s checkbook.
The upshot of that battle was that Wayne won, Dad lost, and the fast-and-loose money games continued and just got worse. Charlton Heston was brought in to bump Dad from the leadership, and Wayne’s compensation rose rapidly from about $250,000 a year to almost $1,000,000.00. In the latest available IRS report from 2017, LaPierre’s total compensation was reported at $1.4 million, or about $117,000 per month, and a couple of years before that, he also got a distribution from his retirement fund of about $4 million, for a total compensation of more than $5 million that year. It’s worth noting that he’s receiving this at a time when the NRA is over $30 million in the red, and the retirement fund is in negative numbers to the tune of almost $60 million. Ack-Mack’s take from the NRA in 2017 was over $40 million.
For nearly a quarter of a century, we – Dad, my brother Chris, and I – have returned to this topic (https://www.ammoland.com/2018/01/are-we-revising-nra-history/#axzz5lZKHHSmJ) again (https://www.ammoland.com/2019/01/time-for-changes-at-national-rifle-association/#axzz5lZKHHSmJ) and again (https://www.ammoland.com/2019/02/my-national-rifle-association-expectations/#axzz5lZKHHSmJ).
Our goal has never been vengeance or retribution, but to alert NRA members and rouse the members of the NRA Board of Directors to fulfill their moral and legal obligations to the members, and put a stop to the chicanery. Those efforts have, to a great extent, fallen on deaf ears. We have been vilified, belittled, and ignored by the majority of the board, and we’ve been publicly attacked (https://www.ammoland.com/2018/01/nra-2018-board-election-commentary-marion-hammer/) by NRA leaders accusing us of trying to tear down the organization that we have been working so hard to save.
That’s why the lawsuit against Ackerman McQueen gave me a smile of vindication. It confirms many of the things that we have been saying for so long. But the celebration was tinged with concern about the harm the whole debacle would cause our historic organization. Then all of that turned to anger and a sense of doom as I read the exposé in The New Yorker.
Reporter Mike Spies works for Bloomberg’s anti-rights propaganda outlet The Trace and has collaborated with reporters and editors from a variety of mostly anti-rights newspapers and magazines like Mother Jones and the New York Times. Those connections and affiliations will cause many to dismiss this latest article as just more anti-gun propaganda. That would be a mistake. Spies did a thorough job of digging up sources [he clearly has a someone leaking him info at NRA or maybe Ackerman] and documentation to back up the critical points in his article, and he presents them with little spin or distortion. Calling on NRA members to ignore the message and focus on the messenger, won’t work this time. The article and its sources are too well documented and credible for that, and enemies of the NRA will undoubtedly pursue these leads with bulldog tenacity.
NRA members should be furious, and the Board of Directors should be terrified. Even with my 40-year history in the NRA, I never imagined the abuses and neglect were so outrageous and rampant. The most significant revelation is that NRA employees and attorneys brought many of these issues to the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, and the members of that committee did nothing to correct the problems. They didn’t alert fellow directors about the issues. They didn’t call executives and contractors out on the carpet for the abuses. They didn’t call for contract reviews, investigations, or disciplinary actions. Instead, they retroactively approved past actions that should only have been taken with their prior approval and did their best to contain the damaging information, helping to drive away dedicated NRA employees who did nothing other than try to inform them of problems.

“The emperor has no clothes!” – “Someone slap that kid!”
To get an idea of the depth and breadth of the theft, corruption, and abuse that has been going on at the NRA for the past 25-plus years, you need to read the entire article in The New Yorker, but here are some highlights:


Remember that 1.4 million dollars being paid to Wayne LaPierre? At some point, a clause was added to his employment contract guaranteeing him payment as a speaker and consultant after he retires from NRA, at the full base salary he is being paid as Executive Vice President.
Multiple NRA executives have left the organization and walked into $600,000 and $700,000 dollars a year consulting contracts for NRA.
Wives, children, and other relatives of NRA executives and NRA contractors have routinely crisscrossed between the NRA and various vendors, drawing exorbitant salaries.
Key vendors – like Ackerman McQueen – have been routinely paid on invoices that were incomplete or unspecific, and NRA employees questioning such payments were retaliated against.

The dollar figures involved are in the hundreds of millions, but the most critical paragraph in the article is this one:

“The memos urged the audit committee to ‘step up + fulfill its duties!,’ but it’s not clear what the board has done to root out malfeasance. James Fishman, a co-author of ‘New York Nonprofit Law and Practice: With Tax Analysis,’ a leading text on nonprofit law, told me, ‘There is no such thing as a director who doesn’t direct. You’re responsible to make yourself aware of what’s going on. If the board doesn’t know, they’ve breached their duty of care, which is against the law in New York,’ where the N.R.A. is chartered. According to Owens, the former I.R.S. official, New York State ‘could sanction board members, remove board members, disband the board, or close down the organization entirely.’” (Emphasis added – JK)
The memos mentioned were prepared by NRA’s director of tax and risk management, Emily Cummins, for an NRA Audit Committee emergency meeting last July. I’ve known Emily for years, and know that she was very loyal and committed to the NRA. I say “was” because Emily no longer works for NRA. I don’t know the circumstances of her departure but could venture a pretty good guess.
This is a collection of specific concerns raised to a committee of the NRA Board of Directors by a loyal NRA employee. It was acquired by the reporter and analyzed by an expert on New York nonprofit law and an expert on nonprofit tax regulations. Their assessment is that the Board of Directors’ failure to have weeded out these issues and addressed them, is – potentially criminal – dereliction of duty that could result in personal sanctions and the dissolution of the organization.

Are you listening now, NRA Directors? Personal sanctions. Removal from the Board. Dissolution of the NRA. All because you have refused to step up and fulfill your duties.
Ignoring warnings, blaming critics, covering for friends, and going along to get along, could bring the world’s most powerful organization for defending the right to arms, crashing to the ground. Continuing to deny and circling the wagons to protect against outside assaults, will not save the NRA, because the destroyer is inside the circle. Only decisive action to root out the corruption and return to the core values and principles of the organization can save it.
There’s no way to fix the problems without sustaining some pretty severe damage. I don’t know what kind of legal issues would be involved in dissolving existing contracts with vendors and employees, but drastic measures must be taken immediately. Those directors carrying the greatest culpability – members of the Audit Committee, the Finance Committee, and the Executive Committee – should resign. Had the Board not recently made recalls of directors and officers virtually impossible (https://www.ammoland.com/2017/01/vote-no-on-nra-bylaw-changes/), I would start a recall drive against many of them.
What makes this whole situation even worse, is the fact that the NRA is chartered in New York. That means that New York law applies, and that means that the rabidly anti-NRA and anti-gun NY Attorney General Letitia James, working under the rabidly anti-NRA and anti-gun Governor Andrew Cuomo, will be in charge of the investigation and any “corrective” action. Does anyone think the benefit of the doubt for “good intentions” will play a significant role?
This is a case of greed, hubris, and blind loyalty leading to calamity. I honestly don’t know if the NRA will be able to survive. There are some very good people on the NRA Board of Directors, and they need to step up now and get to the bottom of all of this. It’s going to be a mess, no matter how it’s handled, but taking aggressive action to cut out the cancer is the only way to save the organization.
Presidents or past-presidents of state associations might need to step up to help out. LaPierre needs to walk away without the golden parachute, and much of the executive staff needs to go with him. Virtually all outside NRA contracts beyond electric service and internet access, need to be canceled in the most cost-effective way possible.


More at: https://www.ammoland.com/2019/04/nras-dirty-laundry-exposed-as-pro-gun-group-cleans-house/

[Swordsmyth]

The American Firearms Coalition wants Donald Trump to veto all red flag gun confiscation bills that come to his desk.
At the NRA Convention taking place on the in Indianapolis, the AFC launched a targeted guerrilla marketing campaign designed to inform grassroots gun activists about a potential sell-out by establishment gun lobbies, primarily the NRA itself, on red flag legislation.
These laws, which have gained considerable momentum in state legislatures (https://ammo.com/articles/gun-control-guide-major-state-acts) across the country, allow the government to seize people’s firearms before they have been convicted in a court of law for a criminal offense.
To get the attention of gun rights activists in town for annual NRA event, the AFC has rented ad space on box trucks roaming around the exterior of the convention.


The American Firearms Coalition pulled no punches, blistering the NRA in a statement provided to BLP:

Grassroots Second Amendment supporters across this country are furious the NRA continues betraying their rights over and over again.
Just in the last 18 months they’ve supported FIX NICS, Bump Stock Ban, and now dangerous Red Flags Gun Seizures.
The American Firearms Coalition is flying the “Stop Red Flags” plane over the convention this weekend, reminding the 80,000 gun owners in attendance that they need to rise up and stop the NRA’s Red Flag Gun Seizures.

BLP reported (https://bigleaguepolitics.com/lindsey-graham-is-now-drafting-his-gun-confiscation-bill/) on Senator Lindsey Graham’s effort make red flag laws a reality at the federal level, which has attracted significant pushback from no compromise gun organizations like the AFC and Gun Owners of America (https://bigleaguepolitics.com/gun-owners-of-america-rips-apart-lindsey-grahams-new-gun-control-scheme/).
In a petition page (https://www.vetoredflags.com/?fbclid=IwAR1BCHus5gJo_BqAi81TQvxoMk80Sz-40iCy9uHcyojggG_WkZrALG5Gqaw), the AFC notes that a red flag law “allows the states to utilize ex-parte hearings as a part of the process. As you undoubtedly know, this means that the gun owner in question would have no idea that his Second Amendment rights are on the line until the police are at his home with an order to confiscate his firearms.”
The AFC also sees red flag laws as potential vehicles for civil liberties abuses:

This means that a gun owner would not be able to confront witnesses, examine the evidence brought against him, have the benefit of counsel present or any of the other due process protections that he is entitled to. Allowing this bill to become law would violate the 5th and 6th Amendments in part or in whole and would set a terrible precedent.
While filming a video (https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=411888299633051&id=126893748252841) in front of Lucas Oil Stadium, Aaron Dorr, the Executive Director of Iowa Gun Owners, revealed that the AFC had an airplane flying overhead with a banner that read: “PRES TRUMP SAVE US: VETOREDFLAGS.COM”

More at: https://bigleaguepolitics.com/new-pro-gun-org-blasts-nras-red-flag-gun-confiscation-support-at-nra-convention/

[Swordsmyth]

http://www.startribune.com/north-says-he-won-t-serve-second-term-as-president-of-nra/509157782/

INDIANAPOLIS — Oliver North announced Saturday that he would not serve a second term as National Rifle Association president, making it clear he had been forced out by the gun lobby's leadership after his own failed attempt to remove the NRA's longtime CEO in a burgeoning divide over the group's finances and media operations.

"Please know I hoped to be with you today as NRA president endorsed for reelection. I'm now informed that will not happen," North said in a statement that was read by Richard Childress, the NRA's first vice president, to members at the group's annual convention.

North, whose one-year term ends Monday, did not show up for the meeting, and his spot on the stage was left empty, his nameplate still in its place. His statement was largely met with silence. Wayne LaPierre, whom North had tried to push out, later received two standing ovations.

It was a stunning conclusion to a battle between two conservative and Second Amendment titans — North, the retired Marine lieutenant colonel with a ramrod demeanor who was at the center of the Iran-Contra scandal of the 1980s, and LaPierre, who has been battle-tested in the decades since he took up the mantel of gun rights. He has fought back challenges that have arisen over the decades, seemingly emerging unscathed each time. In this latest effort, he pushed back against North, telling members of the NRA's board of directors that North had threatened to release "damaging" information about him to them and saying it amounted to an "extortion" attempt.

Hundreds of the NRA's estimated 5 million members packed into the convention center in Indianapolis where the group's annual meetings were being held. Near the end of the two-hour meeting, some members challenged efforts to adjourn and pushed to question the board about controversies involving its financial management, the relationship with its longtime public relations firm and details of what North sought to raise about alleged misspending, sexual harassment and other mismanagement.

But those cries were drowned out as some board members urged such conversations not to be held at such a large public forum, even if the media were eventually discharged from the room.

"We don't want to give the other side any more information than they already have," said Tom King, a board member from New York for more than a decade.

Offered Marion Hammer, a former NRA president and longtime lobbyist from Florida: "The life's blood of this organization is on the line. We are under fire from without. We do not need to be under attack from within."

The internal dispute first spilled out in public after the NRA in recent weeks filed a lawsuit against Ackerman McQueen, the Oklahoma-based public relations firm that has earned tens of millions of dollars in the decades since it began shaping the gun lobby's fierce talking points. The NRA's lawsuit accuses Ackerman McQueen of refusing to hand over financial records to account for its billings.

North has a $1 million contract with Ackerman McQueen, raising alarm bells among some in the NRA about conflicts of interest. He has a show called "American Heroes," on NRATV, the online TV station created and operated by Ackerman McQueen. NRATV and Ackerman McQueen's billings are at the center of the turmoil, with some members and board members questioning whether they were getting any value for the money devoted to that part of the operation. In 2017 alone, the NRA paid the firm $40 million.

NRATV's programming is provocative, often taking on topics far afield from gun rights, leading some members to wonder if it was damaging its efforts to further gun rights and bring in new members.

The NRA also has faced some financial and regulator struggles in recent years, and there remain concerns that New York authorities in particular — the state where the NRA created its charter — are looking to strip it of its nonprofit status.

In his statement, North said a committee should be set up to review the NRA's finances and operations.

"There is a clear crisis and it needs to be dealt with" if the NRA is to survive, he said.

Childress, who read North's statement, said he only found out the night before that he would be asked to read it. A message left with the Freedom Alliance, a nonprofit group founded by North in the 1990s, seeking to contact North, was not immediately returned.

In his speech later Saturday, LaPierre stuck to standard NRA talking points, going after the mainstream media and lawmakers who seek to restrict gun rights. He told the crowd that efforts to strip away gun rights will fail.

"We won't accept it. We will resist it. We won't give an inch," he said.

North, 75, was a military aide to the National Security Council during the Reagan administration in the 1980s when he entered the spotlight for his role in arranging the secret sale of weapons to Iran and the diversion of the proceeds to the anti-communist Contra rebels in Nicaragua.

He was convicted in 1989 of obstructing Congress during its investigation, destroying government documents and accepting an illegal gratuity. Those convictions were overturned in 1991. Embraced by many on the right, he went on to run for office, write several books and serve as a commentator on Fox News.

Related:

https://www.npr.org/2019/04/27/717808885/oliver-north-says-he-will-not-seek-a-2nd-term-as-nra-president...

[Swordsmyth]

Steve Hart, the longtime lawyer for the National Rifle Association board, has been suspended from that role, two people with knowledge of the move told The Daily Beast.
In addition, Col. Oliver North–who announced his departure (https://www.thedailybeast.com/oliver-north-will-not-seek-reelection-as-nra-president-amid-investigation?ref=home) from the powerful gun rights group this morning–has warned board members that the organization could lose its nonprofit status.
A spokesperson for the NRA’s outside law firm did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and neither did Hart. A lawyer for North declined to comment.
Hart represented the board for years, and his suspension came before North announced that he is stepping away from his leadership role at the organization after only six months on the job.
The lawyer’s ouster represents the departure of another senior, long-time NRA insider with detailed knowledge of the organization’s troubles. And it comes as internal turmoil and sniping rocks the gun-rights group.
On Friday, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times reported that NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre wrote a letter to the board claiming that North tried to blackmail him into leaving the organization. The NRA also claimed (https://www.thedailybeast.com/nra-takes-a-shot-in-court-at-ollie-north-its-own-president-in-court?ref=home) in an update to a lawsuit against its long-time advertising vendor, Ackerman McQueen, that North double-dipped by simultaneously taking a salary from the firm and being on contract with it to make a documentary series for NRATV.
North, meanwhile, told the board recently that he fears serious financial mismanagement by the NRA’s leadership. He recently wrote a letter to board members raising concerns and announcing the start of a crisis management committee. “I did this because I am deeply concerned that these allegations could threaten our nonprofit status,” North wrote, per a copy of the memo reviewed by The Daily Beast.
North also told board members he’d tasked the committee with investigating “allegations of financial misconduct related to Mr. LaPierre, which have been made in response to the NRA’s recently filed lawsuit against Ackerman McQueen.”
“We are facing a serious crisis,” North continued. “To date, my repeated efforts to inquire about the propriety of management’s financial decisions have consistently been rebuffed.”
“We need responsible leadership and advice from outside professionals to appropriately deal with this crisis,” he added.




https://www.thedailybeast.com/nra-suspends-top-lawyer-while-oliver-north-warns-group-could-lose-nonprofit-status?source=articles&via=rss

[Swordsmyth]

Anti-gun New York Attorney General Letitia James is preparing an investigation into the NRA’s finances (https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/apr/27/new-york-ag-launches-investigation-nra/)

[jkr]

...I wonder how much dough he slipped the Sandinistas this time...

[enhanced_deficit]

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?533912-Oliver-North-out-as-NRA-president-after-leadership-dispute&p=6788678&viewfull=1#post6788678

[Swordsmyth]

Now Wayne Lapierre says the NRA’s ad agency is trying to blackmail him alongside Ollie North. (https://newsok.com/article/5629892/nra-chief-accuses-okc-ad-agency-of-blackmail)

[Swordsmyth]

President Trump on Monday said that the National Rifle Association (NRA) is "under siege by Cuomo and the New York State A.G.," who he accused of "illegally using the State's legal apparatus to take down and destroy this very important organization."
https://zh-prod-1cc738ca-7d3b-4a72-b792-20bd8d8fa069.storage.googleapis.com/s3fs-public/inline-images/trump%20nra%20jpg.png
The NRA must "get its act together quickly, stop the internal fighting, & get back to GREATNESS - FAST!" Trump concluded.

The NRA is under siege by Cuomo and the New York State A.G., who are illegally using the State’s legal apparatus to take down and destroy this very important organization, & others. It must get its act together quickly, stop the internal fighting, & get back to GREATNESS - FAST!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 29, 2019 (https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1122837541084958725?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

In a subsequent Monday tweet, Trump said: "People are fleeing New York State because of high taxes and yes, even oppression of sorts. They didn’t even put up a fight against SALT - could have won. So much litigation. The NRA should leave and fight from the outside of this very difficult to deal with (unfair) State!"

....People are fleeing New York State because of high taxes and yes, even oppression of sorts. They didn’t even put up a fight against SALT - could have won. So much litigation. The NRA should leave and fight from the outside of this very difficult to deal with (unfair) State!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 29, 2019 (https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1122853926087348224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) Trump's tweets come after New York Attorney General Letitia James' office announced on Saturday that her office had launched an investigation into the NRA and issued subpoenas to the organization, following reports of an internal dispute between the group's president, Oliver North, and its CEO, Wayne LaPierre - in which North accused LaPierre of financial malfeasance, including misappropriating $200,000 of NRA funds to purchase clothing from an NRA vendor, according to the Wall Street Journal (https://www.wsj.com/articles/oliver-north-out-as-nra-president-11556376506).


More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-04-29/trump-nra-under-illegal-investigation-como-and-new-york-ag

[Swordsmyth]

Ted Nugent says the NRA may have a small accounting problem, and they should open their books to the membership just to clear the air (https://outline.com/nczvz8)

[pcosmar]

Which Gun Rights group is cleaning out what?

NRA is not a Rights Group.. They are a Regulation Group.

[ThePaleoLibertarian]

GOA>>NRA

Always.

[Swordsmyth]

Somebody is quietly leaking Wayne Lapierre’s extravagant spending habits at the NRA (https://www.wsj.com/articles/leaked-letters-reveal-details-of-nra-chiefs-alleged-spending-11557597601)

[ATruepatriot]

Somebody is quietly leaking Wayne Lapierre’s extravagant spending habits at the NRA (https://www.wsj.com/articles/leaked-letters-reveal-details-of-nra-chiefs-alleged-spending-11557597601)

I have been yelling at the NRA guys about that for about ten years now.

[Swordsmyth]

I have been yelling at the NRA guys about that for about ten years now.

The NRA hasn't been right since Yankee generals founded it.

[Swordsmyth]

New leaks reveal that the National Rifle Association has been going on a spending binge.
Several documents, posted anonymously on the Internet, revealed an extravagant spending bill that National Rifle Association Chief Executive Wayne LaPierre sent to Ackerman McQueen Inc.
The Wall Street Journal reports (https://www.wsj.com/articles/leaked-letters-reveal-details-of-nra-chiefs-alleged-spending-11557597601) that “National Rifle Association Chief Executive Wayne LaPierre billed the group’s ad agency $39,000 for one day of shopping at a Beverly Hills clothing boutique, $18,300 for a car and driver in Europe and had the agency cover $13,800 in rent for a summer intern.”
The anonymous document pointed to clothing, travel, and other miscellaneous expenses rounding out to more than $542,000, of which LaPierre billed to Ackerman McQueen Inc.

More at: https://bigleaguepolitics.com/nras-ceo-racked-up-over-500000-in-luxury-spending-billed-to-the-org/

[Swordsmyth]

BREAKING: Prominent NRA board member reportedly calling for the organization to clean "its own house" and remove CEO Wayne LaPierre from his position, citing concerns over internal financial mismanagement – ABC News
— News Breaking LIVE (@NewsBreaking) May 14, 2019 (https://twitter.com/NewsBreaking/status/1128386537018675200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

[Swordsmyth]

Former Congressman Allen West, a board member of the National Rifle Association, released an extraordinary statement Tuesday blasting a “cabal of cronyism” within the NRA (https://www.rollingstone.com/t/nra/) and demanding the resignation of the organization’s longtime honcho, Wayne LaPierre (https://www.rollingstone.com/t/wayne-lapierre/).
“It sickens me to publicly make this statement (https://theoldschoolpatriot.com/statement-regarding-nra/),” West writes on his website, The Old School Patriot. Citing internal spending scandals that have recently spilled into public view (read: WTF Is Happening at the NRA, Explained (https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/wtf-nra-scandals-explainer-830567/)), West decries NRA brass for what he calls the “despicable spending of members’ money.”

West trains his fire on LaPierre, revealing that he had called on the NRA Executive Vice President to step down prior to the NRA’s annual meeting in April in Indianapolis. West repeats the call in his open letter: “I do not support Wayne LaPierre continuing as the EVP/CEO of the NRA.”


The NRA’s new president, Carolyn Meadows, recently issued a statement in response to leaked details of questionable expenditures (https://www.wsj.com/articles/leaked-letters-reveal-details-of-nra-chiefs-alleged-spending-11557597601) by LaPierre, declaring that the “entire board is fully aware of these issues. We have full confidence in Wayne LaPierre.” The head of the NRA’s audit board, Charles Cotton, also defended allegedly excessive billing (https://www.wsj.com/articles/leaked-letters-reveal-details-of-nra-chiefs-alleged-spending-11557597601) by the gun group’s outside law firm by saying: “The board supports the work the firm is doing, the results achieved, and the value of its services. Importantly, this relationship has been reviewed, vetted and approved.”
West called these statements “outright lies,” insisting: “I have never been told, advised, informed or consulted about any of these details … and who knows how much more despicable spending of members’ money.” Such statements, West insists, “have maliciously, recklessly and purposefully put me, and uninformed Board members, in legal jeopardy.”
“There is a cabal of cronyism operating within the NRA and that exists within the Board of Directors,” West declares. “It is imperative that the NRA cleans its own house.”

West reveals that he has drafted a “Resolution of Concerns” that has been circulated to the NRA board. He uses his short statement to make a call for structural reform: “The NRA Board of 76 is too large and needs to be reduced to 30 or less.” West also calls for term limits for board members and for the NRA to return to its core mission: “training and education in marksmanship, shooting sports, and the defense of the Second Amendment.”
West ends his blast with a message to NRA brass. “I do not care if I draw their angst,” he writes. “My duty and responsibility is to the Members of the National Rifle Association, and my oath, since July 31, 1982, has been to the Constitution of the United States, not to any political party, person, or cabal.”

More at: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/board-member-blasts-cabal-cronyism-200557011.html

[Swordsmyth]

...


NRA Faces Uncertain Future After Departure of Longtime PR Firm

By Asher Stockler On 5/30/19

U.S.
Ackerman McQueen, the controversial Oklahoma-based public relations firm widely regarded to have helped shape the National Rifle Association (NRA) into a national political and cultural force, has moved to terminate its nearly 40-year relationship with the gun-rights group.
“Faced with the NRA’s many inexplicable actions that have constructively terminated the parties’ Services Agreement, Ackerman McQueen decided it is time to stand up for the truth, and formally provide a Notice to Terminate its almost four-decade long relationship with the National Rifle Association,” Ackerman told Newsweek in a written statement.

This news comes amid a maelstrom of controversy for both the NRA and its PR firm. The NRA sued Ackerman in April over an alleged failure to provide billing records related to multiple transactions under scrutiny from, among others, the attorney general of New York, where the NRA has its charter.

It is difficult to overstate how synonymous the NRA and Ackerman have appeared to outside observers. Robert Spitzer, the author of The Politics of Gun Control, told Newsweek that the NRA and its operations have been “intimately associated with Ackerman McQueen for 30 year

https://www.newsweek.com/nra-faces-u...r-firm-1440073 (https://www.newsweek.com/nra-faces-uncertain-future-after-departure-longtime-pr-firm-1440073)

[Swordsmyth]

NRATV, which was started in 2016, is going through uncertain waters as its creator, Ackerman McQueen, is preparing a divorce (https://oklahoman.com/article/5632797/nratv-future-in-doubt-with-collapse-of-ackerman-mcqueen-relationship-with-nra) from the gun organization according to The Oklahoman.

However, NRATV’s shock jock material has created internal controversy and has had members question the organization’s dedication to its original mission of gun lobbying.
NRATV has expanded into general political commentary, which is uncharacteristic of its otherwise single-issue focus of lobbying for gun rights.
Former NRA president Marion Hammer questioned the value of NRATV.
“Since the founding of NRATV, some, including myself and other board members, have questioned the value of it.”

She added that “Wayne (LaPierre) has told me and others that NRATV is being constantly evaluated — to make sure it works in the best interest of the organization and provides an appropriate return on investment.”

More at: https://bigleaguepolitics.com/nratv-could-go-down-in-flames/

[Matt Collins]

Want to learn about some of the anti-gun shenanigans the NRA has done over the years?

This website explains it all: http://negotiatingrightsaway.com (http://negotiatingrightsaway.com/)

[Swordsmyth]

The Untold History of the NRA – Part 1 (https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/the-untold-history-of-the-nra-part-1/)

[Swordsmyth]

The National Rifle Association suspended its top lobbyist and one of his deputies, adding further turmoil to the gun-rights group’s leadership ranks as it wages legal battles on multiple fronts and prepares for a bruising 2020 election cycle.The NRA confirmed Thursday that it had suspended Chris Cox, the lobbying chief who was viewed widely as a future leader of the group, and his deputy chief of staff, Scott Christman.
The moves came after Oliver North, the former NRA board president, was ousted from the organization in April after it accused him of leading an attempted coup against Wayne LaPierre, the executive vice president of the NRA who has long served as the organization’s leader. North alleged that LaPierre used the group to enrich himself. As part of the infighting, the NRA sued Ackerman McQueen Inc., its longtime advertising firm, and in turn Ackerman cut ties with the group.
On Wednesday night, the NRA filed a lawsuit against North arguing that he didn’t have the right to legal fees from the NRA. The lawsuit says that Cox, described as a “likely successor” to lead the organization, participated in the failed bid to oust LaPierre.
The leadership struggle came to a head on April 24, according to the lawsuit. That’s when North talked to a LaPierre aide by phone and threatened to reveal unflattering details about LaPierre’s travel and clothing expenses unless he resigned and supported “North’s continued tenure as president,” according to the complaint, which calls the exchange an extortion.
North also promised to arrange an “excellent retirement” for LaPierre through Ackerman McQueen if he resigned, the NRA claims.
The NRA filed its suit against Ackerman McQueen in mid-April, claiming it refused to turn over details about North’s contract with the advertising firm. Last month, the NRA sued again, claiming Ackerman McQueen engineered the failed coup attempt by leaking damaging information to undermine NRA leaders.
The firm fired back with a breach-of-contract countersuit, claiming that the NRA was just trying to get out of its service agreement with the firm and that it had provided all the information sought by the gun group.
North was aided in his efforts against LaPierre by NRA board member Dan Boren, a former congressman who’s now a top executive for Chickasaw Nation, a major Ackerman McQueen client, according to the NRA complaint filed on Wednesday. Boren “helped to choreograph the ultimatum they presented to Mr. LaPierre,” it said.
In emails obtained by the NRA, Boren “admitted his knowledge that Ackerman may have been invoicing the NRA for full salaries of employees who were actually working on the Chickasaw Nation account.” Those emails also show that Cox was an “errant fiduciary” who “participated in the Ackerman/North/Boren conspiracy,” the NRA claims.
The complaint asks a judge to declare that the NRA shouldn’t be required to cover North’s legal fees for subpoenas arising from its litigation with Ackerman McQueen and from a Senate Finance Committee request for information. North’s attorney had demanded that the NRA cover his legal fees for the congressional probe and for “any other inquiries” that he “may receive” in the future, it said.
Cox’s suspension was reported earlier by the New York Times. Cox’s spokeswoman told the Times that he played no role in the coup attempt.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/nra-suspends-chief-lobbyist-accused-173628312.html

[Intoxiklown]

Admittedly just to spark conversation......

Am I the only one who isn't a bit at odds with themselves over Red Flag Confiscation Laws?

Don't get me wrong, it lacks any form of due process.....which I vehemently oppose.
It violates someone's rights purely predicated on a chance they MIGHT do something LATER.....which I vehemently oppose.

But there is a small voice in my head that also says, "these are temporary confiscations carried out due to immediate family members voicing serious concern that their family member has shown major signs of being a serious threat to the public". Well, in a perfect world that's what they are supposed to be.

So while I in no way agree with it, am I the only one who has a part of their mind half way understanding it? I've had thought exercises with myself a few times trying to see if I could work out a way to help the family if sincere, get the person themselves help if they were indeed in "a bad place", and all the while insuring that the event in no way harmed the person's rights regardless of the need being found invalid or if the need was validated and the person was able to get help. And no....I can't think of any way to guarantee all those. And no, even if I could I don't think I'd support red flag. Just curious if I'm the only one who wonders is all

[Swordsmyth]

Admittedly just to spark conversation......

Am I the only one who isn't a bit at odds with themselves over Red Flag Confiscation Laws?

Don't get me wrong, it lacks any form of due process.....which I vehemently oppose.
It violates someone's rights purely predicated on a chance they MIGHT do something LATER.....which I vehemently oppose.

But there is a small voice in my head that also says, "these are temporary confiscations carried out due to immediate family members voicing serious concern that their family member has shown major signs of being a serious threat to the public". Well, in a perfect world that's what they are supposed to be.

So while I in no way agree with it, am I the only one who has a part of their mind half way understanding it? I've had thought exercises with myself a few times trying to see if I could work out a way to help the family if sincere, get the person themselves help if they were indeed in "a bad place", and all the while insuring that the event in no way harmed the person's rights regardless of the need being found invalid or if the need was validated and the person was able to get help. And no....I can't think of any way to guarantee all those. And no, even if I could I don't think I'd support red flag. Just curious if I'm the only one who wonders is all
It's very cleverly designed to sound Oh so reasonable but it is wide open for abuse.

One of the worst parts is that the state laws I have heard about allow anyone who claims to be dating you turn you in and these days that isn't limited to the opposite sex.

[Intoxiklown]

It's very cleverly designed to sound Oh so reasonable but it is wide open for abuse.


One of the worst parts is that the state laws I have heard about allow anyone who claims to be dating you turn you in and these days that isn't limited to the opposite sex.[/QUOTE]

Oh....agreed. When I first heard of it being tossed around and they said family I was sure it'd have to be immediate family and at least two. Not to mention we all know what a great track record any government agency has of restoring rights they mistakenly took away. And that's really the thing I guess that sticks in my head....is even at optimum circumstances (family is truthful and sincere, person in question in in need, focus is actually help, everything ends well) I can't in any way see a mechanism followed that both returns the weapons as well as not even a smudge is added to their record. I guess part of me hates that anything involving a family trying to honestly help a family member in that kind of regard has no option (outside of going to their house, whipping their ass, and taking their guns themselves. But then they've now opened themselves to assault and theft) to explore without causing serious harm to someone's life and their ability to enjoy their rights

[Swordsmyth]

The National Rifle Association has ended production of NRATV, the live broadcasting media arm it launched in 2016, the New York Times reported Tuesday.
The organization has also formally severed ties with Ackerman McQueen, the Oklahoma-based advertising agency that operated NRATV and has represented the NRA since the 1980s, according to the Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/25/us/nra-nratv-ackerman-mcqueen.html).
NRATV may continue to air previously recorded content on its website, but all live broadcasting will cease, and on-air personalities like Dana Loesch, who were technically employees of Ackerman McQueen, will no longer represent the NRA publicly, the Times reports.


The Times said Tuesday that LaPierre will announce the decision in an email to members Wednesday morning.
“Many members expressed concern about the messaging on NRATV becoming too far removed from our core mission: defending the Second Amendment,” reads the email, obtained by the Times. “So, after careful consideration, I am announcing that starting today, we are undergoing a significant change in our communications strategy. We are no longer airing ‘live TV’ programming.”
In a statement provided to the Times, an Ackerman McQueen spokesperson said it is “not surprised that the N.R.A. is unwilling to honor its agreement to end our contract and our long-standing relationship in an orderly and amicable manner. When given the opportunity to do the right thing, the N.R.A. once again has taken action that we believe is intended to harm our company even at the expense of the N.R.A. itself.”

More at: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/nra-kills-off-nratv-report-040910096.html

[Anti Globalist]

GOA>>NRA

Always.
And it will remain that way until the unforeseeable future.

[Swordsmyth]

Top NRA executive Chris Cox resigns amid tumultuous times for the gun group (https://abcnews.go.com/US/top-nra-executive-chris-cox-resigns-amid-tumultuous/story?id=63962673)

[Swordsmyth]

People are fleeing New York like never before. If they own a business, they are twice as likely to flee. And if they are a victim of harassment by the A.G. of the state, like what they are doing to our great NRA, which I think will move quickly to Texas, where they are loved…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 2, 2019 (https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1146016073600372736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

…Texas will defend them & indemnify them against political harassment by New York State and Governor Cuomo. So many people are leaving New York for Texas and Florida that it is totally under siege. First New York taxes you too high, then they sue you, just to complete the job
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 2, 2019 (https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1146016074384773120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

[Matt Collins]

I live in Florida and we are suffering from the second Yankee invasion. They are turning this place progressive.

[Swordsmyth]

Even as the National Rifle Association (http://www.independent.co.uk/topic/national-rifle-association) (NRA) has been consumed by relentless and increasingly public infighting, Wayne LaPierre (http://www.independent.co.uk/topic/wayne-lapierre) has maintained a firm grip on its leadership.
Now one of the gun group’s major benefactors says he is preparing to lead an insurgency (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/nra-coup-wayne-la-pierre-lobbyist-suspended-oliver-north-a8968356.html) among wealthy contributors to oust Mr LaPierre as chief executive, along with his senior leadership team.
Such a rebellion would represent a troublesome new threat to Mr LaPierre, as his organisation’s finances and vaunted political machine are being strained amid a host of legal battles, most notably the New York attorney general’s investigation into its tax-exempt status.
David Dell’Aquila, the restive donor, said the NRA’s internal warfare “has become a daily soap opera, and it’s decaying and destroying the NRA from within, and it needs to stop”.
He added, “Even if these allegations regarding Mr LaPierre and his leadership are false, he has become radioactive and must step down.”
Until that happens, Mr Dell’Aquila, a retired technology consultant who has given roughly $100,000 (£80,000) to the NRA in cash and gifts, said he would suspend donations — including his pledge of the bulk of an estate worth several million dollars.
He said he was among a network of wealthy NRA donors who would cumulatively withhold more than $134 million (£106 million) in pledges, much of it earmarked years in advance through estate planning, and would soon give the gun group’s board a list of demands for reform.


The extent of any rebellion is difficult to discern, and the NRA insisted it still had the firm backing of its donor base.
Mr LaPierre has also retained the support of the NRA’s 76-member board, with fewer than a handful of public defections, and it would take a three-fourths vote by the board and one of its committees to oust him.
But there have been signs of wavering grassroots support, including a recent announcement by Greg Kinman, a gun enthusiast with more than 4 million followers on YouTube, that he was cutting ties with the NRA.


In a series of interviews and emails, Mr Dell’Aquila cited numerous concerns.
He was troubled that a former NRA president, David Keene, had been caught up in an investigation over his ties to Maria Butina, the Russian who pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as a foreign agent (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/maria-butina-sentence-jail-russia-spy-us-court-trial-a8888031.html).
He was disturbed after The New York Times reported this year that Tyler Schropp, a senior NRA executive, had an interest in an outside company that had received $18 million (£14 million) from the NRA.
He was also dismayed by a recent New Yorker story tying the NRA’s former longtime chief financial officer to allegations of embezzlement (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/nra-losing-money-financial-issues-trouble-gun-lobby-lawsuit-a8476671.html) at a previous job.
“I don’t know if these stories are true or not true,” he said. “My No. 1 concern, frankly only concern, is that our Second Amendment (http://www.independent.co.uk/topic/second-amendment) rights are preserved and the optics of negativity that are directly harming the NRA institution ceases.”
Mr Dell’Aquila said he had approached high-ranking NRA officials to express his dissatisfaction as recently as April, when the NRA held its annual convention in Indianapolis, but was not satisfied by their responses.
And he said the board had recently been removing critics of LaPierre from key oversight committees.
“I decided the best way to be effective is to start a grassroots effort to demand from the NRA leadership accountability as well as transparency,” he said.
His demands include the resignation of Mr LaPierre and his senior leadership in time to put in a new team for the 2020 elections.
In addition to Mr Cox’s return, he wants Allen West, an NRA board member and former Tea Party congressman opposed to Mr LaPierre, installed as the group’s president.
He would also shrink the board to 30 members from 76; stop paying consulting fees to board members; dismiss the NRA’s accounting firm, RSM; remove past presidents from the board; and cut costs by holding meetings in central locations.
He lamented that an upcoming board meeting was to be held in Alaska: “What are the optics of that?” he said. “It’s negative. It’s self-inflicted.”
He adding that the NRA could find board members who “would do this for free, and it keeps us clean in the liberal papers (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/nra-violence-against-women-act-domestic-abuse-guns-firearms-red-flag-a8843676.html)”.
Mr Dell’Aquila said he had come to his decision reluctantly and had always been treated graciously by Mr LaPierre and his wife, Susan.
“I’m not pro-Mr LaPierre, and I’m not anti-Mr LaPierre, I’m just simply being objective and trying to save a historic institution from itself,” he said.
“Right or wrong, the buck stops with Mr LaPierre, because this occurred underneath his leadership, and he’s ultimately accountable.”

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/major-nra-donor-lead-rebellion-110312191.html

[Swordsmyth]

Former National Rifle Association President Oliver North accused the group’s leader, Wayne LaPierre, of defaming him, forcing him out of the gun rights group and retaliating after North raised questions about lavish spending and financial mismanagement.In a court filing Thursday, North said the NRA falsely accused him of fomenting a failed “coup” to get LaPierre, once a “long-term, close personal friend,” to step down. Instead, North lost the power struggle and resigned in April after saying he had quietly tried to protect the NRA and its mission.
LaPierre, aided by the NRA’s outside counsel, William Brewer, has since used adverse publicity to “undermine North and his efforts to address allegations of financial misconduct at the NRA,” according to the filing.
North is responding to an NRA lawsuit filed last month in New York state court in which the gun group claims he’s not entitled to legal fees. North says the NRA’s bylaws require the association to cover fees stemming from a May 3 inquiry by the Senate Finance Committee and any other queries he may receive from law enforcement or investigative bodies about the gun rights group.
The NRA has been in turmoil since North left his unpaid presidency. It suspended its chief lobbyist, Chris Cox, after accusing him of joining North and the NRA’s former advertising and public relations firm, Ackerman McQueen Inc., in the failed coup. Cox has left the association, and Ackerman McQueen cut ties after LaPierre accused it of breach of contract.
New York Attorney General Letitia James is investigating the NRA’s finances. The group claims in a lawsuit that the state illegally discouraged banks and insurers from doing business with it. The NRA also sued Ackerman McQueen, which produced the now-defunct NRATV. The advertising firm countersued.

Ackerman McQueen hired North in 2018 after he left Fox News, when LaPierre “urged and convinced” him to take on the new role. However, Ackerman McQueen has been “unable to pay” North since late June. The NRA’s lawsuit against Ackerman McQueen “appears to be motivated by Brewer’s long-simmering animosity toward his current in-laws, who run Ackerman McQueen,” according to North’s filing.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/oliver-north-claims-nra-leader-194335161.html

[Swordsmyth]

The attorney general for Washington D.C. has issued subpoenas to the National Rifle Association and its related charitable foundation as part of an investigation into allegations of financial misconduct inside the powerful gun lobbying organization.The subpoenas add to a host of difficulties for the NRA, which is facing internal turmoil and multiple external inquiries as it gears up for a 2020 election push in support of President Donald Trump.
Attorney General Karl Racine said in a statement that his office is examining both the NRA and the NRA Foundation.
"We are seeking documents from these two nonprofits detailing, among other things, their financial records, payments to vendors, and payments to officers and directors," Racine said.
Marrisa Geller, a spokeswoman for Racine's office, said the subpoenas were "early investigative" queries that were focusing on "potential misuse of funds" inside the NRA.
Racine's office has limited powers. All felony cases in the District of Columbia are handled by the U.S. Attorney's office. However, his office enforces a Washington law governing the behavior of nonprofit organizations. Racine recently used this authority to open an own investigation of alleged sexual abuse inside Washington's Catholic Archdiocese.
William A. Brewer III, the NRA's lead lawyer, said in a statement that the organization intended to cooperate fully.
"The NRA has full confidence in its accounting practices and commitment to good governance," Brewer said. "The association's financials are audited and its tax filings are verified by one of the most reputable firms in the world. Internally, the association has an appropriate conflict of interest policy, which provides that all potential conflicts are reviewed and scrutinized by the audit committee."

The U.S. Senate Finance Committee also has launched an investigation into the NRA's operations.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/washington-ag-opens-inquiry-nras-203036420.html

[Swordsmyth]

The turmoil at the National Rifle Association continues to build, with Jennifer Baker, the organization’s longtime director of public affairs, stepping down from her post.
Baker’s departure, which was confirmed by several people familiar with the matter, could further complicate the group’s ability to play in the 2020 election. She had been playing a key role in mapping out the NRA’s electoral strategy.


An NRA spokesman declined to comment on the latest exit.
Baker, who has worked at the pro-gun group for the last six years, was a part of Cox’s inner circle and was among those who helped to orchestrate the NRA’s 2016 offensive backing Donald Trump against Hillary Clinton.
Jason Ouimet, a former head of federal affairs at the NRA, has been tapped as a temporary replacement for Cox.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/another-top-nra-staffer-departs-190607346.html

[Swordsmyth]

In a new filing against the National Rifle Association, lawyers for ad agency Ackerman McQueen suggest that longtime NRA executive Wayne LaPierre is lying about a critical moment in the gun rights group’s recent leadership shake up (https://www.thedailybeast.com/nra-subpoenas-oliver-north-its-ex-president).
At issue is multi-million-dollar litigation between the NRA and its ex-ad firm (https://www.thedailybeast.com/nra-pulls-the-plug-on-nratv). In court filings of its own, the NRA has alleged that Oliver North, the groups's former president, was ousted in part because he withheld information from the NRA about payments he took from Ackerman McQueen, which had served as the gun rights group’s primary ad contractor until just months ago (https://www.thedailybeast.com/oliver-north-has-to-pick-a-side-nra-or-nratv). The NRA claims North kept the nature of his deal with Ackerman McQueen a secret from LaPierre and the gun group’s leadership.
But in a July 16 filing that was reviewed by The Daily Beast, Ackerman McQueen alleges that LaPierre himself helped negotiate the deal between their firm and North (https://www.thedailybeast.com/nra-takes-a-shot-in-court-at-ollie-north-its-own-president-in-court). And they hint that they have documentation to prove it.

LaPierre negotiated the terms of the North Contract directly with Lt. Col. North and a detailed term sheet was sent to AMc [Ackerman McQueen] for completion of the formal agreement,” the filing reads.
The NRA’s then-treasurer, Wilson “Woody” Phillips, also reviewed and approved North’s contract with the firm, according to the filing, and the NRA board’s audit committee green-lit the contract as well.
“On at least two occasions, counsel for the NRA has reviewed the North Contract,” the filing adds.


The NRA has alleged in court that Ackerman McQueen had refused to share its analytics with the gun group.
But In its July 16 filing, Ackerman McQueen claims that the opposite is true.
“Two days before the lawsuit was filed, LaPierre was in AMc’s office and was in attendance for the presentation of the NRATV analytics,” it reads. “LaPierre walked out of the meeting.”
A spokesperson for the NRA’s legal team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/ex-nra-ad-firm-um-174623697.html

[Swordsmyth]

Three members of the National Rifle Association’s board resigned (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/three-nra-board-members-resign-in-latest-sign-of-upheaval-at-gun-rights-group/2019/08/01/aad49bc0-b49d-11e9-8f6c-7828e68cb15f_story.html?utm_term=.fa367a573e34) on Thursday August 1, 2019.
Concerns about fiscal impropriety and mismanagement motivated the board members to resign from the organization.
The three board members — Esther Schneider of Texas, Sean Maloney of Ohio and Timothy Knight of Tennessee — claimed that they were stripped of their committee assignments after they questioned NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre’s spending habits.

In a letter to the NRA, the former board members wrote “While our belief in the NRA’s mission remains as strong today as ever, our confidence in the NRA’s leadership has been shattered.”

More at: https://bigleaguepolitics.com/three-nra-board-members-resign-citing-leadership-incompetence/

[Swordsmyth]

A major National Rifle Association (https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/national-rifle-association/) donor sued the gun-rights organization this week for fraud, saying its leaders have misspent money over the last four years, ignoring the group’s core mission while paying for expensive clothing and trips for CEO Wayne LaPierre (https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/wayne-lapierre/).
David Dell’Aquila filed a federal class-action lawsuit in Tennessee and fired (https://media.washtimes.com/media/misc/2019/08/07/AG_James_8.6.19.pdf) off letters (https://media.washtimes.com/media/misc/2019/08/07/AG_Racine_8.6.19.pdf) to the attorneys general in New York (https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/new-york/) and Washington on Wednesday, urging them to complete investigations into the NRA (https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/national-rifle-association/) well before the 2020 election.
“We feel that the NRA (https://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/national-rifle-association/) no longer represents its membership and has been corrupted by those in control,” said Mr. Dell’Aquila, who has given about $100,000 worth of cash and gifts to the group in the last several years and — until recently — had pledged most of his estate to the group when he died.

More at: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/aug/7/nra-donor-files-class-action-lawsuit-against-gun-r/

[Swordsmyth]

A fourth member of the National Rifle Association's Board of Directors resigned Monday, as turmoil within the gun-rights group continues to become public.Julie Golob, a professional sport shooter, wrote in a post published on her website (https://www.juliegolob.com/dear-nra-members) that she will not be completing her full 3-year term and gave notice of her resignation to NRA President Carolyn Meadows, Secretary John Frazer, and the members of the board.
"This was not a decision I made lightly," she wrote. "I apologize to those members who have supported me that I will not be completing the full 3-year term. I also feel this is the best decision for me and my family. "
"I wish the director who fills my vacancy and the rest of the board nothing but success. I will absolutely continue to support the NRA’s programs and sports as a proud benefactor member and active participant in the preservation of freedom," she concluded.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/fourth-nra-board-directors-member-023036395.html

[Swordsmyth]

The Untold History of the NRA Part II (https://thegunpsy.com/nra-part-2/)

[Swordsmyth]

A National Rifle Association leader-turned-critic is meeting with New York investigators next week, and the NRA wants to be there.aNew York's attorney general's office is questioning Oliver North on Tuesday as it probes whether the NRA broke laws governing its nonprofit status.
The powerful gun lobby asked a New York state judge Friday to let it in the meeting, saying it would be "severely prejudiced" if privileged information is divulged.
In court papers, it said it had asked the attorney general's office to be included in the meeting but was told it would be burdensome and was refused.
The NRA cited grounds why some information could be kept from investigators, including attorney client privilege, work-product rules and other unspecified privileges.
NRA lawyers said they reviewed 899 pages of documents from North's lawyers that were prepared for investigators and found several dozen examples of privileged information that had not been redacted.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/nra-wants-role-oliver-north-202452107.html

[Swordsmyth]

On Monday, Richard Childress submitted his resignation letter as a member (https://nbcnascartalk.files.wordpress.com/2019/08/nra-resignation-letter.pdf) of the Board of Directors for the National Rifle Association and a handful of the organization’s committees, NBC Sports has confirmed.
The resignation came two days after the owner of Richard Childress Racing helped give the command to start engines for the Cup Series night race at Bristol Motor Speedway, which was co-sponsored by Bass Pro Shops and the NRA.
“At this time, it is necessary for me to fully focus on my businesses,” Childress said in his letter. “I owe that to my employees, our partners, my family, and myself. Since proudly agreeing to serve on the NRA Board, I have supported the organization and its important mission to preserve and protect our Constitutional rights. But when, as now, I am no longer able to be fully engaged in any commitment I have made, it becomes time for me to step down. I have reached that point in my ability to continue to serve the NRA. As such, I must resign.”

More at: https://sports.yahoo.com/richard-childress-resigns-national-rifle-160036182.html

[Swordsmyth]

The National Rifle Association’s former ad firm has subpoenaed the gun group’s chief executive, Wayne LaPierre, for a deposition, according to a court document reviewed by The Daily Beast.
Lawyers for the NRA, who filed the document in Virginia Circuit Court on Aug. 21, are seeking to postpone LaPierre’s interview.
LaPierre isn’t the only senior NRA official who faces a grilling from ad firm Ackerman McQueen. According to the filing, the ad firm also wants to question the gun group’s top spokesperson, Andrew Arulanandam; Millie Hallow, assistant to the executive vice president; and the NRA’s chief financial officer, Craig Spray.

The NRA’s filing says that the ad firm has refused to hand over materials responsive to its own document demands because of the NRA’s outside law firm, Brewer Attorneys and Counselors. Ackerman has argued that Brewer’s firm tried to steal its business from the NRA and has asked the judge presiding over the case to limit Brewer’s access to material it shares with the NRA.


The NRA’s filing argues that as long as Ackerman McQueen withholds materials, LaPierre and the other gun-group chiefs shouldn’t have to be deposed. LaPierre’s deposition is currently scheduled for Sep. 4, according to the filings.
It isn’t LaPierre’s only scheduled Q-and-A session. According to the New York Daily News (https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-assemblywoman-angela-wozniak-affair-settlement-20190815-bwb5t45eu5ggxpeo3ra2rtbpu4-story.html), the New York Attorney General’s Office has also subpoenaed LaPierre as part of its investigation of the gun group.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/nra-former-ad-firm-slaps-191838898.html

[Swordsmyth]

Following accusations of sexual harassment, a former top executive for the National Rifle Association (https://www.insider.com/category/national-rifle-association?utm_source=yahoo.com&utm_medium=referral) has been ousted at the pro-gun organization according to an email from its general counsel, Newsweek (https://www.newsweek.com/josh-powell-national-rifle-association-1485257) first reported.
Court filings first reported by the Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/top-nra-official-placed-on-leave-virginia-court-filing-states/2020/01/31/7a47a552-444d-11ea-abff-5ab1ba98b405_story.html) on Friday first suggested that Powell was "on leave" due to an NRA (https://www.insider.com/category/nra?utm_source=yahoo.com&utm_medium=referral) counsel investigation into a sexual harassment dispute with the NRA's advertising firm Ackerman McQueen. The organization's general counsel, John Frazer, clarified to the board of directors in an email that Powell was "no longer employed by the NRA."
"Several directors have reported receiving media queries regarding Josh Powell and his employment status with the Association," he wrote in an email obtained by Newsweek. "For the sake of clarity, we note that Josh is no longer employed by the NRA.
Most recently, Powell worked as the chief of staff to the NRA's chief executive Wayne LaPierre and was compensated over $900,000 in 2018.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/nra-let-top-official-reports-184626086.html