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Posted on 04/28/2019 3:00:16 PM PDT by jazusamo
INDIANAPOLIS — The National Rifle Association, which began its annual meeting last week with optimism and enthusiasm, leaves Indianapolis amid unprecedented chaos, with President Oliver North announcing his abrupt departure and new legal scrutiny of the group’s finances and inner workings.
Mr. North was decrying the “disarm America” movement to an adoring crowd on Friday, but on Saturday he was announcing — by proxy — that he would no longer be the group’s president after tensions with Wayne LaPierre, the group’s executive vice president, boiled over.
Even board members were left talking in apocalyptic tones.
“Every day has been a surprise, OK?” said Joel Friedman, an NRA board member from Nevada. “What’s absolute today may not be absolute tomorrow…the only thing that’s guaranteed in life is we’ll all die one day.”
The NRA’s board of directors is slated to meet on Monday to discuss next steps, and rank-and-file members said they want answers after Mr. North said he was concerned that alleged financial improprieties by top NRA officials could endanger the group’s coveted non-profit status.
That fear was further fueled when New York Attorney General Letitia James launched an investigation into the group in the middle of the four-day convention.
“There is seemingly some infighting, and as a member I just want to get to the truth of what are the issues, what is the financial misfeasance and what conflicts exist, and then I think we can internally address them to the extent there are any,” said Joshua Prince, an attorney from Pennsylvania.
First Vice President Richard Childress stunned members at their annual meeting over the weekend when he read a letter from Mr. North in which the retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel announced he was effectively stepping away from his position.
(Excerpt) Read more at outline.com ...
Fire leadership and upper management beginning with the idiots who hired North while also knowing he was double-dipping with NRA partner. Fire anyone involved in these sweetheart deals that have lined the pockets of several companies and quite a few people. Refocus NRA on its mission and advocacy.
The Office of the President of the NRA has ALWAYS been subordinate to the office of the Executive Vice President. Always. And I say that as a Benefactor Life Member.
Wasn’t a surprise. You can’t try to kill the king and then stick around
Straight arrow North clearly had begun trying to clean up some apparent financial malfeasance but that effort has now been nipped in the bud. There’s no way now that the NRA can hide any financial “dirty laundry” that may exist. They need to come clean and clean house where appropriate.
I had huge reservations about Ollie. I love him and all he stands for, but he was a firecracker inside a non-profit like NRA. Not used to following orders or being a team player.
“...and rank-and-file members said they want answers...”
Yeah, I’d sure like to know what the hell is going on. And this New York government have to be the worst pukes on the planet.
If I was Eric Pratt over at the GOA, I would be gearing up to fill what sadly I suspect is going to become a massive void in the defense of our rights.
I agree with the attorney Joshua Prince in the article in saying “I just want to get to the truth of what are the issues.”
I really do wish some people would realize some things are more important than their own egos.
“Straight arrow North”?! He was given a $2M sweetheart deal and doing nothing. Worse, he was also on the payroll of NRA spin-offs, double-dipping. Corruption that hurts NRA. Not to say the others are any better as this whole thing stinks. As a life member, first member in 70s, it is sad to see the organization collapse at the hands of its leadership.
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Letitia James is NYS’s very own Kim Foxx.
“As a life member, first member in 70s, it is sad to see the organization collapse at the hands of its leadership.”
But that collapse started well before North, right?
It seems to me that the NRA is currently just a bunch of lawyers sitting around and praying for the Democrats to threaten our rights so that the money will roll in, again.
I am disappointed if North was corrupt, but I have no confidence in La Pierre, at all.
The NRA,Wayne LaPierre, Ollie North, and the GOP-e are Beltway swamp slimes. They are certainly better than anyone associated with the Democrats, but they have the same stink. Donald Trump has exposed all of this corruption, especially those who want to pretend to be conservatives in order to fill their pockets with money from the Fly over country people. We need to remember this without giving a free goal to those on the Democrat side who are working to destroy this Republic.
GOA has been doing that for years. When I became a Life Member 20 yrs ago, I think there were maybe 250,000 members. Now there are over 2 million. And you won’t find GOA writing a Brady Bill, or endorsing anti-gun D’s or R’s just because they helped pass a GOA bill. GOA’s website has an interesting letter from Larry Pratt to the NRA board of directors, also from maybe 20yrs ago. It is stunning that NRA has endorsed so many anti-gun R’s and D’s.
I think there is value in joining NRA and their state affiliates, but they also need to know that endorsing gun control is absolutely unacceptable.
This has been a long time coming. Lapierre and Marion Hammer have long since lost their way and have turned the NRA into their personal cash cow.
There is a real chance that their corruption could cost us our constitutional rights.
That might be true, but reports are that North was getting paid close to 1 Million dollars a year through NRA-TV, so North himself might be the problem.
Yes, in my opinion, the organization has been in trouble for many years. Hiring double-dipping North is kind of the last straw. Sorry, I have never had any respect for him and that he teams up with the corrupt NRA leadership confirms their problems. For an honorary president, why are they paying them beyond expenses anyway?
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