NRA Sues Ackerman-McQueen, Ackerman-McQueen Tries to Oust LaPierre at Meeting

B

Bartholomew Roberts

Moderator
The NRA has recently sued its long time lobbying firm for refusing to provide a detailed account of billing for the $40 million NRA spent with them in the last year. The lawyer leading the charge for NRA is the brother-in-law of a senior AM partner however and it isn’t immediately clear to me whether the suit is justified or an attempt to poach a client that spends millions on legal services every year.

In response, NRA Board Member and AM partner, David Boren has demanded Wayne LaPierre step down. The demand was delivered by the new President, Oliver North, who also receives money from AM. Having seen what Boren has done to OU, I can’t imagine he has the same vision f the NRA that I do and it surprises me to see him and North on the same side.

Sources (all these are from a single convenient news aggregator site but the link shows the actual document or original news source):
LaPierre’s letter refusing to resign: https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2...sponding-to-the-boards-demand-that-he-resign/
Adam Kraut’s take on the matter:
https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2019/04/ttag-contributor/existential-threat-the-crisis-at-the-nra/
New York investigation into NRA board malfeasance:
https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2...ork-state-regulators-the-power-to-destroy-it/
NRA sues Ackerman McQueen
https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2...-long-time-advertising-firm-ackerman-mcqueen/
 
To add, here's Jeff Knox's take on it. Knox can be prickly, but he's right on this.

Frankly, I've wanted LaPierre gone since the "jack boot thugs" thing, and he bears responsibility for some truly horrifying missteps in public perception (the "Target Practice" ad, the Dana Loesch "We're Coming for You" ad).

Meanwhile, they appointed Oliver North as President. Any other corporation with a whiff of common sense would realize how (to put it mildly) controversial a choice that was.

Under his leadership, the NRA has come to look clueless, blatantly partisan, and out of touch with younger gun owners. Add their full-throated support for the bump-stock ban, and they have a massive PR problem.
 
I'm a lifetime member of the NRA. I am pro second amendment. I am a gun owner. That's what I am plain and simple.

The NRA is falling apart at the hands of infiltrated anti-gun activists and needs a thorough and complete house cleaning. I do not think it represents it's members much like congress does not represent the people.

I paid my dues to the NRA yet they continue to ask me for more money. Every time I turn around there's another email that asks me for more money. The only way to respond to the emails is with money and I'm sick and tired of it. I've gotten to the point now where I feel like it's just a big scam.
 
The NRA is falling apart at the hands of infiltrated anti-gun activists and needs a thorough and complete house cleaning.
Click to expand...

I don't think this is even remotely accurate. The greed and corruption at the top of the organization is doing a much better job of destroying it from within than any anti-gun activists could even dream of.
 
Wayne has needed to go for many years, along with some of the other long standing board members. The problem is that they've been in for so long and changed or made up rules that pretty much keep them there!

Anytime (such as now) there's talk about ousting them, they close ranks and make it sound like there's personal attacks on them. They tell everyone that they're dealing with the enemy within, basically anyone that wants them to step down.

What Wayne and his cronies don't understand is that they are going to destroy the NRA. Even long standing members have been tearing up their membership cards and mailing them in. I'm sure they understand but at this point don't care and figure that if they have to go, they might as well bring the whole organization down at the same time!

That's the kind of POS Wayne is, always has been and always will be!
 
WyMark said:
I don't think this is even remotely accurate. The greed and corruption at the top of the organization is doing a much better job of destroying it from within than any anti-gun activists could even dream of.
Click to expand...
The more I read and see, you are probably correct. North is out but then I don't think he was ever really in.
 
Except in this case the winners of a Cincinnati revolt would be Boren and Ackerman-McQueen. As much as I’d like to see LaPierre gone, I’m left wondering if that’s an improvement.
 
This is nothing new. Absolutely nothing new.

Maxwell Rich, Ray Arnett, and J. Warren Cassidy made a complete hash of their time as NRA EVPs.

Rich was trying to pull NRA totally out of the firearms rights arena and move the organization to Colorado Springs.

It's his 'leadership' that led directly to the Cincinnati Revolution.

Ray Arnett (I THINK that was his name) kept a 20something side piece who worked for NRA.

He allegedly paid her considerably more than what her job description bore, and also allegedly used NRA funds to pay for a luxury apartment for her.

J. Warren Cassidy had a curious watch, too. Under his leadership NRA wasted something north of $50 million on a computer system that never worked.

And, he allegedly couldn't keep his penis in his pants when around the ladies.

He also fired Marsha Beasley, who ended up suing Cassidy and NRA for wrongful termination and sexual harassment. Cassidy and the NRA settled that one after depositions had been taken because, allegedly, one of NRA's attorneys told Cassidy that there was no way to win after certain facts came out about his conduct and statements he supposedly made.
 
WyMark said:
The first I read about this was the New Yorker article last week that Knox references in his column.

http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-d...ed-at-the-nra/

Very long, in depth and well researched. The extent of the self dealing and corruption is really amazing, but not really all that surprising.
Click to expand...

On April 12th, the N.R.A. embarked on another lawsuit—against Ackerman McQueen. The suit alleges that Ackerman has denied the N.R.A. access to basic business records, including the terms of Oliver North’s contract, and blames the firm for throwing it into an existential crisis. Ackerman’s general lack of transparency, the complaint says, “threatens to imminently and irreparably harm” the N.R.A.’s status as a nonprofit organization. (In response, the marketing firm issued a statement saying it “has served the NRA and its members with great pride and dedication for the last 38 years. The NRA’s action is frivolous, inaccurate and intended to cause harm to the reputation of our company and the future of that 38-year relationship.”)
Click to expand...
It appears unusual and illogical that the NRA would sue Ackerman McQueen after 38 years, and considering the paired-at-the-hip relationship between the organizations and the principle players.

Unless ... it's a sham lawsuit. Unless the NRA is filing a lawsuit only to satisfy "dissident" (i.e. responsible) members and directors that they are (finally) acting responsibly, but a lawsuit they have no intention of winning. The NRA's lead attorney, after all, is the son-in-law of the senior McQueen. Talk about a conflict of interest!

Conspiracy theory much? Yes, possibly. But to a well-entrenched cadre of bloodsuckers, it would make perfect sense.
 
I don’t think you are wrong to think that the lawsuit is designed to protect the NRA Board of Directors from lawsuits by members rather than correct ongoing corruption.

LaPierre is as deep with Ackerman McQueen as any of his accusers. The NRA has been arguing that the financial organizations are conspiring against them; but it seems like a decent portion of the insurance problems are that nobody wants to insure a fat target for lawsuits based on failure by the board to uphold even basic corporate responsibilities.

ETA: Same NY Attorney General that called the NRA a “terrorist organization” will investigate whether NRA has sufficient oversight to qualify for tax-exempt status.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/15/business/nra-nratv-lawsuit.html

Better, inside-baseball analysis by National Review of the many political interests at stake in this fight: https://www.nationalreview.com/corn...e-into-the-public-light-oliver-north-departs/
 
Last edited:
Well, I'm not about to give up my NRA membership or support. But, I would like to see the organization cleaned up quickly. As for the lawsuit against Ackerman-McQueen, it seems legitimate. If there wasn't any truth tot he lawsuit at all, this would have been easily settled by Ackerman-McQueen making full disclosures.

How can we know which NRA Directors truly have the best interest of gun owners and the NRA at heart?
 
Good question. My take away in some of the debates is that support for the NRA and its basic goal does not mandate blind faith in any particular leadership. Leadership is an empirical question and might be better served if the actual leadership was elected and not enshrined.

Messes like this probably mandate a house cleaning of both warring parties. When folks are making a million bucks for their positions, you have to wonder about priorites. When your debatable clothing allowance is 200K, what are you thinking about?
 
Us little brains (aka humans) can't handle much power. Having lots of it will ultimately lead most to corruption. The situation with the NRA is sad but not surprising. In all honesty, I wonder how I (or most people) would do in a similar situation. I personally think politicians, including Sec 501c3 leaders should be drafted from a qualified pool for fixed terms.
 
After forty-nine years in the NRA I quit last year. It's as corrupt as both political parties are right now. If I give money, I want it to do some good, not line someone's pockets.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top