Month: June 2019

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The Pincus Deposition – Video Excerpt

June 30, 2019 by

As was mentioned in yesterday’s post on the Rob Pincus’ deposition in the NRA v Ackerman McQueen case, it was explicitly acknowledged that Rob was not properly served and that he appeared voluntarily. In the video below you can hear the objections of the attorneys for AckMac to the deposition including the fact that it was delivered to a location in New Jersey where he had not lived for years. You will also hear the fact that Rob explicitly acknowledges he is appearing voluntarily when asked by the attorney from the Brewer firm Michael Collins.

Thanks to Rob for providing this video excerpt of the deposition.

UPDATE: Rob has released a second video excerpt of his deposition. In the video below, he explains how he first came across the documents that purportedly were “leaked”. It was on Facebook on a page where he didn’t even know who managed the page. You can’t get any more public domain than that!

Save the Second has a long post on their website with more details on how Rob spent Friday.

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The Pincus Deposition

June 29, 2019 by 2 Comments

Earlier in June, it was revealed that a number of people had been subpoenaed in the NRA’s lawsuit against Ackerman McQueen. While most of those who received a subpoena were NRA Board of Director members, trainer and activist Rob Pincus was also served. Ostensibly, the subpoenas were to find out who leaked information such as the bills from Ackerman McQueen regarding Wayne LaPierre’s clothing purchases, Oliver North and Richard Childress’ letter regarding outside counsel William Brewer III, and other such information.

Yesterday, Rob gave his deposition in the case to attorneys representing both the NRA and Ackerman McQueen.

He noted this on Facebook about his testimony in the deposition yesterday.

As I’ve said many times, I wasn’t involved in any “leaks” and I don’t know who was. Now that is part of the court record… officially. After consider time, effort and expense.

The NRA sent a team of lawyers from VA & TX and hired a local videographer and court reporter.
They sent them to one of the most remote locations in the Continental US and rented the town hall for the proceedings.
I walked over with my daughter and she hung out with the local pre-schoolers and a friend while the deposition took place.

I had offered to provide the documents that revealed pretty clearly when I first encountered the (already public) documents and save everyone a lot of time and money. The NRA Attorney’s wanted to do this today. Ackerman’s attorneys attended via phone line and video feed.

The location was Silverton, population 630, which is the county seat of San Juan County, Colorado. In other words, it was a long way from the big city. Or even any city.

Rob was gracious enough this morning to spend 20 minutes on the phone with me providing an after-action report. We discussed a number of things in the conversation including the why of the subpoena, what he thought they were trying to find, the cost to him, the monetary costs incurred by the NRA ‘s lawyers, and more.

The deposition took five hours, two attorneys for the NRA, a court reporter who had to travel from Denver, a videographer from Durango, and an expensive video conference hook-up so that the Ackerman McQueen attorneys could participate. Rob estimated that the costs ran upwards of $20,000 before you begin to figure in the attorneys’ billable hours. It was also very needless as Rob had made a good faith offer to provide all documentation and a sworn statement on what he knew. This offer was rejected by the lawyers representing the NRA.

As Rob travels often, the date could have been adjusted so that the deposition could have taken place in a more convenient and more cost effective location for the NRA and AckMac. The attorneys for AckMac noted in the meeting for the deposition that there was no reason to rush the process as it was early in discovery and no trial date had been set. Nonetheless, the lawyers for the NRA were insistent that the deposition be taken on June 28th as it appears they were more interested in speed. Rob believes that they were more interested in finding “the leak” than they were in the case itself.

The attorneys for the NRA, Robert Cox of Briglia Hundley and Michael J. Collins of Brewer Attorneys, admitted that Rob had not been properly served with the subpoena. As such, he appeared voluntarily at this deposition. In his opinion, the subpoena itself was an abuse of the discovery process meant as a fishing expedition and was meant to intimidate Rob as he has been a vocal critic of Wayne and the “Old Guard”.

I asked Rob about the costs to him both financially and emotionally. The financial costs were the distraction from his training and other businesses plus the lost productivity. The emotional costs were much higher. He had heard horror stories from friends about what to expect so he was very wary going into the deposition. Rob found that a number of people who had been talking with him before the subpoena suddenly stopped post-subpoena. Fortunately, he found the deposition “went far better than it could have with the lawyers” as they were professional, polite, and focused on the issues.

Rob wanted the following things highlighted.

  1. The deposition established nothing was leaked to Rob, nothing was stolen, and that everything he as received was in the public domain.
  2. He appeared voluntarily. As noted above, he was not properly served.
  3. He had nothing to hide.
  4. While subpoenaed by the attorneys for the NRA, he was critical of both sides in the case. 
Rob has told me that he will have video excerpts on the deposition available later today. I will post them as they become available.
I want to thank Rob again for taking the time out of his morning and out of his time with Baby Pincus to talk with me about the deposition.
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The Arrogance Of Youth

June 28, 2019 by 1 Comment

I saw a tweet today that just made me roll my eyes. It was from Lauren Hogg who is the younger sister of David “Camera ” Hogg.

I think if there is one thing that Wayne LaPierre and Revan McQueen might agree on, it would be that Miss Hogg and her older brother had nothing to do with the demise of NRATV.

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Chris Cox Resigns (Updated)

June 27, 2019 by 9 Comments

An email went out this morning to all NRA employees informing them that Chris Cox has tendered his resignation. This is a sad day in the fight for gun rights on Capitol Hill. Chris Cox and the NRA-ILA have been, more or less, effective in keeping the Republicans and some Democrats on the side of gun rights.

Wayne LaPierre’s email is below:

From: “LaPierre, Wayne”
Date: June 26, 2019 at 8:50:14 AM MDT
To: #All NRA Employees <#AllNRAEmployees@nrahq.org>
Subject: Important Announcement

Dear Board Members and NRA Staff,

I wanted to inform you that Chris Cox tendered his resignation as executive director of NRA-ILA. I have accepted it and want to thank Chris for his service to the NRA and for his efforts to advocate for the Second Amendment.

Chris’s action follows our filing of a lawsuit in New York on June 19. Thereafter, I announced that, pending our pursuit of the facts relating to certain allegations contained in that lawsuit, Chris was placed on administrative leave. Naturally, that pursuit will continue in the interest of the NRA and our members.

In the meantime, NRA-ILA continues to benefit from a strong team with deep political experience, valued relationships, and a passion for the Second Amendment. We will make an announcement soon about an interim director of ILA and, in the meantime, continue to position the NRA for great success in the 2020 election season and beyond.

Please join me in wishing Chris and his family the best.

Wayne

That’s nice. Wish Chris and his family the best after he has been stabbed in the back.

One thing that has been mentioned to me is that there is more than a supposed “coup” attempt behind this. The NRA-ILA gave the NRA proper a substantial loan that has not yet been repaid so that they could cover their bills. The loan was made in the 2017 time frame. Now it is rumored that Wayne came back to ILA asking for a loan in the $15 million range and Chris Cox said no. The other person who had the authority to say “no” on behalf of the NRA-ILA was Scott Christman and he is on administrative leave as well.

The interim head of the NRA-ILA is expected to be the former ILA head of state affairs who has been working for the NRA proper for the last few years. The likelihood of him saying “no” to Wayne when asked for a loan is not likely.

UPDATE: If the comments on the Twitter feed of NY Times reporter are any indication, those who are anti-rights are ecstatic. You can read it here.

UPDATE II: Sebastian at Shall Not Be Questioned has his take on this whole mess. He is one of the few bloggers who goes way back with the NRA. Sebastian and Bitter have always, in my opinion, had good connections within the NRA.

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Report On The NRA V. Ackerman McQueen Hearing Today

June 27, 2019 by

Stephen Gutowski of the Free Beacon attended the court hearing today in Alexandra, Virginia in the case of NRA v. Ackerman McQueen. He reported on the case is a series of tweets on Twitter. The whole thread is here.

However, a couple of things just jumped out at me.

Wait a minute! You mean to tell me that William Brewer III, the probable architect of the entire series of lawsuits against Ackerman McQueen, is a AckMac client. What the hell!

I’m guessing those family ties between Brewer and the McQueens is not as frayed as one would have been led to believe. Brewer is the brother-in-law of AckMac CEO Revan McQueen and the son-in-law of former CEO Angus McQueen. Brewer’s wife is Skye McQueen Brewer.

Bill and Skye Brewer at a Ralph Lauren charity event.

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Letter Sent Out Today To Instructors Regarding NRATV

June 27, 2019 by

While I’m doing a data  dump today, I might as well add this. It is a letter sent out by the NRA to all of its certified instructors. As I am certified to teach Basic Pistol, I received it. It really doesn’t say anything different than what was placed on the www.nratv.com website. In other words, it is still the same self-serving BS that we’ve come to expect from Wayne.
Dear NRA Instructor,

As
many of you may know, we have been evaluating if our investment in
NRATV is generating the benefits needed. This consideration included the
return on investment and the cost and the direction of the content.
Many members expressed concern about the messaging on NRATV becoming too
far removed from our core mission: defending the Second Amendment.

So,
after careful consideration, I am announcing that starting today, we
are undergoing a significant change in our communications strategy. We
are no longer airing “live TV” programming. Whether and when we return
to “live” programming is a subject of ongoing analysis.

The NRA will continue and improve our service on social media channels and our flagship website, www.nra.org
– your trusted resource of information. Our many web sites will
continue to showcase new and archived videos, as we reorganize much of
this information in a way that better serves our key audiences.

What
necessitated the change now is our conclusion that our longtime
advertising firm and website vendor failed to deliver upon many
contractual obligations it made to our Association.  The NRA will always
hold our vendors to high standards and ask that they maximize their
value to the Association. No exceptions. 

Looking
ahead, you can expect great things from your NRA. We will energize our
messaging strategy, become more cost efficient, and promote the NRA’s
singular focus like never before.  Simply put, our messaging strategy
will advance the NRA’s core mission: to serve our members and fight for
our Second Amendment.  

– Wayne
National Rifle Association of America • 11250 Waples Mill Rd • Fairfax, VA. 22030
Please do not reply to this e-mail.
Unsubscribe from this email list  |  Manage your email lists  |  Contact Us
Thank you
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I Can’t Disagree With This Comment

June 26, 2019 by

A comment was made on Facebook which I think epitomizes what some of us see as the issue at the NRA.

Chris Meissen wrote in reference to a story in a non-profit journal covering the issues at the NRA:

LaPierre is behaving like a mini-Maduro, dragging the organization down around him while trying to hold on to power.

I think he has hit the nail on the head. Wayne LaPierre’s scorched earth approach to maintaining power may be good for Wayne but is horrible for the NRA as an organization. I acknowledge there are many good people on the Board of Directors. Some want Wayne gone and some still support him.

As to why those who still support him do so, I can think of three reasons. You have those who are in thrall of him like NRA President Carolyn Meadows based upon what he did years ago. Then you have those afraid of him for whatever reason. Finally, you have those who fear that with Wayne gone the golden goose will be gone with him. Thus you have the delusional, the fearful, and the greedy keeping Wayne in his position of power at least for the time being.

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NRATV Is No More

June 26, 2019 by

Live production of NRATV has ceased. The announcement was made yesterday and follows a demand from Ackerman McQueen to be paid for its services. The move was widely expected given the parting of the ways between the NRA and AckMac.

From the New York Times:

The N.R.A. on Tuesday also severed all business with its estranged advertising firm, Ackerman McQueen, which operates NRATV, the N.R.A.’s live broadcasting media arm, according to interviews and documents reviewed by The New York Times.

While NRATV may continue to air past content, its live broadcasting will end and its on-air personalities — Ackerman employees including Dana Loesch — will no longer be the public faces of the N.R.A. It remained unclear whether the N.R.A. might try to hire some of those employees, but there was no indication it was negotiating to do so.

It is somewhat ironic that one of the reasons stated for shutting down NRATV was the content that strayed from Second Amendment issues into other conservative social issues. Ironic because I think Wayne LaPierre used it to burnish his conservative credentials when appearing at events like CPAC. In a statement, he said regarding NRATV:

“Many members expressed concern about the messaging on NRATV becoming too far removed from our core mission: defending the Second Amendment,” Wayne LaPierre, the N.R.A.’s longtime chief executive, wrote in a message to members that was expected to be sent out by Wednesday. “So, after careful consideration, I am announcing that starting today, we are undergoing a significant change in our communications strategy. We are no longer airing ‘live TV’ programming.”

I think when NRATV was just Cam Edwards with Cam & Co. or special reports by Ginny Simone along with commentary from “the young guns” it was OK. Then it added programming from people like Dana Loesch and Grant Stichfield and it began to move more into other social issues. This loss of focus on the Second Amendment and threats to gun rights was when many members started having second thoughts about its usefulness.

Ackerman McQueen responded to the cessation of live production saying in part:

Ackerman, in its own statement, said it was “not surprised that the N.R.A. is unwilling to honor its agreement to end our contract and our long-standing relationship in an orderly and amicable manner.”

“When given the opportunity to do the right thing, the N.R.A. once again has taken action that we believe is intended to harm our company even at the expense of the N.R.A. itself,” the company added. It said it “will continue to fight against the N.R.A.’s repeated violations of its agreement with our company with every legal remedy available to us.”

The full letter from the NRA terminating its business relationship with Ackerman McQueen and the Mercury Group is below. The letter also demands all materials produced by AckMac for the NRA.

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NRA Searching For Ad Firm

June 24, 2019 by 3 Comments

What should have taken place years ago appears to be taking place now. Advertising firms are being invited to pitch the NRA their services as a replacement for Ackerman McQueen. The news comes from the British advertising news site Campaign.

Interpublic CEO Michael Roth announced that they would not be pitching the NRA account.

Roth said: “There is a review out for the NRA and we’re not participating in that. And that’s not just coming from me, it’s coming from our agencies, you know. Our people don’t want to work on an engagement like that.”

Interpublic is the fourth largest advertising company in the world with annual billing revenue of $7.5 billion. Their major advertising subsidiaries are McCann Worldgroup and Mullen Lowe Group. Some of McCann’s clients include MGM Resorts, Coca-Cola, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, and GM. Meanwhile, Mullen Lowe represents companies like Burger King, Schick, and E-Trade.

This leads to the question as to whether Interpublic is just engaging in virtue signaling or does it have concerns about the NRA’s finances which might preclude them from taking the account (if they won) due to risk management. As reported last week, Ackerman McQueen is demanding to be paid for work on NRATV or they will close it down. So far that bill has gone unpaid.

The other question out there is what other advertising firms have been invited to the pitch the NRA account. The answer to that is “we’ll see”.

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A Jim Crow Law Loved By NC Sheriffs And The Demanding Moms

June 24, 2019 by

The North Carolina pistol purchase permit is an archaic law that has its roots in segregation. As I’ve written many a time about its history, the law was designed to keep blacks, populists, and union leaders disarmed and at the mercy of the KKK and racist Democrats. It is still supported by the North Carolina Sheriffs Association and the gun prohibitionists.

The permit came to fore again as the NCSA tried to hijack a bill concerning church security to increase the price for a pistol purchase permit and, oh yes, include the “good moral conduct” requirement in our concealed handgun permits. The time for permit to go is long gone by. Why we even have a law on the books that was implicitly meant to discriminate against one race is beyond me.

Grass Roots North Carolina agrees and is saying it is time again to contact your legislators to demand this archaic, racist, and ineffectual law be eliminated. I agree.

A RACIST LAW NEEDS TO END

The
latest round of shenanigans by the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association
and our state legislature leave no doubt that the only proper course of
action
is to put North Carolina’s racist Jim Crow-era pistol purchase
permitting in the trash bin.


Enacted during the Jim
Crow era as a way to prevent African Americans from purchasing handguns,
North Carolina’s pistol purchase permit system has long been sold as a
“public safety measure,” when it is anything but. Not only did it give
sheriffs wide latitude to deny someone the right to purchase a
handgun, but it also creates a dangerous safety loophole that allow
criminals to circumvent point-of-sale background checks.

The right to keep and bear arms can never be subject to the
whims of elected officials, and Grass Roots North Carolina has worked
tirelessly to ensure that the permitting process (like the concealed
handgun permitting process) remains “shall issue” (meaning that a
sheriff can not arbitrarily deny a permit.) The well-funded anti-freedom
movement has worked hard to perpetuate this racism under the auspices
of
“public safety,” and it’s now clear that the North Carolina Sheriffs’
Association pays the same lip service to the second amendment as does
the proliferation of Bloomberg-funded anti-gun astroturf groups.


Here’s the irony: the pistol purchase permits create
a massive loophole for criminals to purchase firearms through legitimate
channels of commerce. A pistol purchase permit is good for 5 years, and
there
is absolutely no mechanism in place through which a permit can be
revoked if the bearer becomes, for instance, a convicted felon. The
permit allows
the purchaser to completely circumvent the NICS FBI background check
normally done at the point of sale.

A
racist law
that makes us less safe … one has to wonder why some politicians and
the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association keep supporting this terrible
legislation. Is it the profit motive for the sheriffs? Is it the mere
desire for control? Do these groups want criminals to get
guns?

Isn’t it time that our politicians and the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association speak up and tell us the
truth?

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IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!

  • POINT: Send an email to the Republican members of the NC Senate letting them know exactly how you feel about the
    Pistol Purchase Permit.

  • PLEASE CONTRIBUTE TO GRNC: Help us fight gun control while we promote Second Amendment principles. Please CLICK HERE to contribute. Bear in mind that GRNC is an all-volunteer organization, so you can be sure your
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CONTACT INFO

DELIVER THIS MESSAGE
Suggested Subject: “Repeal NC’s Racist Jim Crow Pistol Purchase Permit NOW!”  
Dear Senators:
I write this letter to you today to demand that you work to repeal North Carolina’s
racist, Jim Crow-era pistol purchase permitting system.


The pistol
purchase permit system provides
criminals with a dangerous loophole: since there is no mechanism for a
Sheriff to revoke a pistol purchase permit, someone could be convicted
of a
felony and still circumvent the NICS background check with a pistol
purchase permit in hand. Furthermore, we have seen how deeply-pocketed
special
interests like Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun organizations and the North
Carolina Sheriffs’ Association will try to further their elitist agenda
with
the same capriciousness that Jim Crow-era sheriffs used the pistol
purchase permitting process to deny African Americans the right to keep
and
bear arms.

North Carolina is no place
for dangerous, racist legislation like this, and the people of this
state
deserve nothing less than a full repeal of this Jim Crow law.

I will be monitoring your actions on this issue
closely through alerts from Grass Roots North Carolina.

Respectfully,