As the NRA Convention gets underway in Indianapolis, this year has made one thing crystal clear: The NRA is in a state of crisis. It’s facing multiple Congressional and state regulatory investigations related to its political and programmatic activities, serious allegations of significant financial mismanagement by its top executives, and a weak balance sheet.
A stunning new New Yorker/The Trace exposé by Mike Spies last week detailed how “a small group of N.R.A. executives, contractors, and vendors has extracted hundreds of millions of dollars from the nonprofit’s budget.” In response to the report, Everytown has called on Congress and state charities regulators to investigate the NRA, its officers and board members to identify any violations of laws governing charities and has lodged a formal complaint with the IRS.
As the NRA continues to duck questions about its questionable financial transactions, Russia, and more, here are five big questions the NRA ought to answer:
- Will NRA members receive real answers about how their dues were spent and whether board members and executives upheld their fiduciary duties or will leadership continue to pretend they’ve done nothing wrong?
- Has the NRA board approved the reported financial arrangements like NRA executive vice president’s Wayne LaPierre’s retirement arrangement, which the New Yorker/Trace piece reported would guarantee him a salary “at an annual rate that starts at his currently contracted final base salary” no matter what services he performs for NRA?
- Did NRA President Oliver North get his contract with NRA vendor Ackerman McQueen, reported to be worth roughly $1 million per year, as part of a deal to become NRA president? If so, what role did LaPierre, who has worked hand-in-hand with Ackerman McQueen for decades, play in that?
- Do any NRA executives or board members have contractual, financial or fiduciary relationships with NRA contractors or vendors (e.g. Ackerman McQueen, Mercury Group, Wayne Sheets, etc.) besides those that have been disclosed publicly so far?
- Does the NRA stand by prior comments that Wayne LaPierre disapproved of the 2015 NRA trip to Moscow, given new revelations that an NRA official worked directly with an admitted agent of the Kremlin, Maria Butina, to plan it, and “a source close to” former NRA President Pete Brownell said he never heard anything about LaPierre’s supposed disapproval before he went on the trip?
As the NRA’s agenda continues to fall out of favor with Hoosiers and Americans, don’t let the noise at the convention fool you. The NRA is growing increasingly fringe, and it is now ensnared in numerous scandals that are diminishing its influence in the public arena and threatening to expose the truth about its leadership.
If you have any interest in learning more about the NRA’s dangerous agenda or would like to speak with someone about its multiple scandals, please don’t hesitate to reach out to [email protected].