The NRA’s Leadership Is in Crisis and All We Can Say Is ‘Thoughts and Prayers’

By David Boddiger  |  April 27, 2019 | 3:18pm
Latest

An internecine war has broken out among the leadership at
the National Rifle Association, with two repulsive human beings—Wayne LaPierre
and Oliver North—attempting to pick each other off via threats, counterthreats,
and accusations of extortion.

Yet not a single tear would be shed across the great United
States should the NRA inevitably destroy itself from within at the hands of two
such contemptible men.

The latest salvo occurred Thursday evening, ahead of the
group’s annual meeting in Indianapolis, IN, the next day, which featured a deranged
speech by President Donald Trump. LaPierre, the NRA’s executive vice
president and longtime leader, sent a letter to the group’s board of directors
accusing North, the NRA
president, of extorting LaPierre in an effort to oust him.

“Leaders in every walk of life must often choose: between
what is true, and what is polite; between what is convenient, and what is
right,” LaPierre wrote
in the letter, which was obtained by The
Wall Street Journal and The New York
Times.

“Yesterday evening, I was forced to confront one of those
defining choices—styled, in the parlance of extortionists, as an offer I
couldn’t refuse. I refused it,” the letter continued. “Delivered by a member of
our Board on behalf of his employer, the exhortation was simple: resign or
there will be destructive allegations made against me and the NRA.”

LaPierre claims that North called a senior staffer to demand
that LaPierre resign or damaging information would be sent to the board to
discredit the longtime NRA leader. “The letter would contain a devastating
account of our financial status, sexual harassment charges against a staff
member, accusations of wardrobe expenses and excessive staff travel expenses,”
LaPierre wrote.

According to the Journal,
North already had sent a letter to the board accusing LaPierre of charging
more than $200,000 to a vendor for his wardrobe.

LaPierre then accused North, an employee of the advertising
firm Ackerman McQueen Inc., of retaliating for a lawsuit the NRA filed against
the firm earlier this month. Ackerman McQueen has been a longtime client of the
NRA, including producing the group’s violent propaganda wing, NRATV.

According to the Times,
the firm also created
the now-famous line by the late actor Charlton Heston, a former five-term
NRA president who said: “I’ll give you
my gun when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.”

North allegedly was paid millions of dollars to host a
program on NRATV called American Heroes.
LaPierre said that Ackerman McQueen had agreed to produce 12 feature-length
episodes of the program within a year, but only three episodes have aired to
date.

“The NRA wrote a recent letter demanding to know what,
exactly it is paying for—and what it is getting—in light of these production
shortfalls,” LaPierre wrote. “AM did not respond directly, but appears to have
responded indirectly by trying to oust me.”

On Saturday, North appears to have had a change of heart
over the matter, saying he would not
serve a second term as NRA president, the Associated Press reported. He was
named president in May
2018.

North’s latest announcement comes just ahead of a full
76-member board meeting scheduled for Monday, the Journal reported.

When North was named president last year, LaPierre called
him a “legendary warrior for American freedom, a gifted communicator and
skilled leader.” He added, “In these times, I can think of no one better suited
to serve as our president.”

According to the AP, the NRA is “bleeding
money” and faces a “series of investigations,” including allegations that
Russian agents funneled millions of dollars to the 2016 Trump campaign via the
organization.

“I’ve never seen the NRA this vulnerable,” Everytown for Gun
Safety President John Feinblatt told the AP.

 
Join the discussion...