National Rifle Association figurehead Wayne LaPierre has successfully weathered a fierce struggle to retain control of the nation’s leading gun lobbying group.
The NRA announced that its CEO and executive vice president was unanimously reelected Monday by the NRA board’s executive committee at its meeting in Indianapolis.
Reporters present at the meeting say the executive committee has been huddled behind closed doors since early morning in a room without any electronic or recording devices allowed.
Other officials who won reelection include NRA Secretary and General Counsel John Frazer, Treasurer Craig Spray, Executive Director of General Operation Joseph De Bergalis, Jr., and Chris Cox, executive director for the Institute for Legislative Action, the group’s lobbying arm.
These vote of confidence for the NRA’s top brass comes amid a stretch of terrible press and mounting legal woes for the organization. Just last week, LaPierre accused outgoing NRA President Oliver North of trying to extort him on behalf of the ad firm that operatives NRATV.
The NRA has sued that ad firm, Ackerman McQueen, for allegedly filing unnecessarily high invoices, amid other instances of financial misconduct.
Lower-ranking NRA members are also lashing out at LaPierre, penning lengthy open letters blaming him for the group’s current upheaval.
More concerning for the gun rights organization, Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James has reportedly launched an investigation into the NRA’s unauthorized political activity and accounting practices. The probe threatens the NRA’s tax-exempt status in the Empire State, where it is incorporated.
