Uncategorized

Ouimet Named Interim Head Of NRA-ILA

July 3, 2019 by 4 Comments

Jason Ouimet, the NRA-ILA’s Director of Federal Affairs, has been named the interim head of NRA-ILA. The news was first leaked in a story by Danny Hakim in the New York Times who seems to be the go-to guy for NRA leaks. It was later confirmed in a series of tweets by Stephen Gutowski of the Free Beacon as well as in a memo sent out to all NRA employees.

TO:                All NRA Employees
FROM:          Wayne LaPierre
                       Executive Vice President
DATE:            July 2, 2019
SUBJECT:     Appointment of Interim Executive Director of NRA-ILA


-‑‑‑‑‑—–‑‑‑‑‑‑‑————————————‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑————


I am pleased to announce Jason Ouimet’s appointment as Interim Executive Director of NRA-ILA.


As many of you know, Jason – a 14 year NRA veteran, – currently serves as our Director of Federal Affairs, a position he has held since January 2015. Jason rose through the ranks after being hired as a federal lobbyist in 2005 and then being promoted to Deputy Director at NRA-ILA Federal five years later.


Jason has a strong legislative and campaign background. On Capitol Hill, Jason was a legislative assistant for former Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-Georgia) where he was responsible for oversight of significant issues like taxes, Homeland Security appropriations, transportation, small business, Social Security, welfare, science & technology, government affairs, Commerce Justice State appropriations and pensions. He also served as Staff Director of the Life Insurance Caucus of which Senator Chambliss was a co-chair.


Prior to working on Senator Chambliss’ personal staff, Jason held the position of Senior Research Analyst at the National Republican Senatorial Committee working on projects for key Senate races. Jason began his career in 1999 as a Junior Analyst with the Republican National Committee where he conducted field research in Florida, Connecticut, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania for President George W. Bush’s 2000 presidential campaign.


Jason is a graduate of Kent State University where he received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science degree in 1999.


Jason is an experienced government affairs professional and a skilled political strategist. He is committed to our noble cause and I know that he will do very well.


Please join me in congratulating Jason.


Wayne

From what I understand, Ouimet is both well-liked and well-respected within the NRA-ILA. It is rumored that there may be a search committee to find a permanent head of ILA but hopes are that Ouimet would be the leading candidate.

The appointment of an interim head of NRA-ILA shores things up a bit there. That said, it should not be forgotten that NRA-ILA serves two purposes:  lobbying and campaigns. The appointment of Ouimet satisfies the first criteria but fails to fill the huge hole left by the ouster of Chris Cox. Over a period of 24 years, Cox had developed a series of relationships with SuperPACs, PACs, 527s, and other campaign organization as well as a deft touch in coordinating expenditures where it would be most useful in the election of pro-gun – or at least not anti-gun – candidates.

One has to wonder if the triumvirate of Wayne, William Brewer, and the NRA officers took any of that into consideration when they forced the ouster of Cox. Brewer probably didn’t give a damn, the officers were clueless, and it seems all Wayne could see was a potential competitor to his position.

Others in the political world are seeing it very clearly. An article published this morning in Politico reports that both the Trump campaign and the Republicans are worried about the NRA’s “meltdown” just before 2020.

Greg Keller who is the former executive director of the American Conservative Union said:

“No organization has been more important to conservative voter education and engagement than the NRA. We all hope they’re able to mount the kind of effort in the 2020 cycle they have in the past,” said Gregg Keller, a former American Conservative Union executive director. “But in case they can’t, given their current situation, I hope they’re being forthright about that within the movement so others can pick up the slack.”


“The situation,” he added, “has folks nervous.”

Steven Law, head of Mitch McConnell’s SuperPAC, said this about the departure of Chris Cox.

Concerns over the NRA intensified last week after the resignation of Chris Cox, who had been the head of its lobbying arm since 2002. Cox was well-liked by NRA staff and board members and had deep relationships with major donors and many of the party’s top strategists. He recently participated in 2020 planning meetings with the pro-Trump America First Action super PAC and the anti-tax Club for Growth. The groups discussed polling and opposition research, voter registration efforts, and ensuring smooth coordination.


With Cox gone, it’s an open question who will oversee the NRA’s 2020 strategy.


“Chris Cox is the guy everybody dealt with,” said Steven Law, president of the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC closely aligned with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Wayne LaPierre’s legacy will be as the guy who caused us to lose gun rights in order to preserve his perks if the Republicans fail to hold on to at least one House of Congress and the Presidency. His paranoia and arrogance caused him to listen to the wrong guy and we are all suffering as a result.

Uncategorized

Who Is MJP?

July 2, 2019 by 6 Comments

If you’ve read the book Atlas Shrugged (or seen the movie) you are familiar with the phrase “Who is John Galt?” I think we in the gun rights community may be adding a variant of this: Who is MJP?

MJP authored a “white paper” on the NRA that appeared on Facebook this weekend. The white paper examines in detail the issues with the NRA leadership, the lawsuits, William Brewer, AckMac, etc. It is a long read but well worth the 15 minutes it takes to read it. As to the identity of MJP, all we can deduce from reading the white paper is that he or she has been a lawyer for over 50 years.

Here are a few excerpts:

On the AckMac lawsuits

Meanwhile I read the pleadings in the NRA’s litigation. Over many years I have analyzed and answered dozens of civil complaints and written some as well. The two that were filed by NRA are unique in my experience; I’ve never seen anything quite like them. They lack a sharp legal focus and ramble on excessively, sounding more like an overwrought lament than a justiciable claim. They present a real mystery to me; I cannot imagine competent lawyers writing such things.

On the Ollie North lawsuit

Whoever conceived this latest lawsuit gave scant thought to the legal reality that a suit alleging conflicts of interest, breach of fiduciary duty and actions “contrary to the best interests of NRA” is not a one-way street. Putting such concepts at issue kicks open the door to exposure of NRA’s own conduct which the defendant can freely explore in depositions, interrogatories and requests for production of documents that can be judicially compelled. Predictably the media will enjoy a feeding frenzy, and the Board better hope that its director liability insurance policy is still in place following NRA’s rupture with Lockton Affinity after Carry Guard capsized.

On the ouster of Chris Cox

Then we have Chris Cox and his chief-of-staff, Scott Christman, suspended on suspicion of being “implicated” in the alleged coup d’etat. If criticism of LaPierre is synonymous with disloyalty to NRA, the Cult of the Personality now has found its most sublime expression. This could not have come at a more critical time for NRA. Since the last national election, ILA needs its full strength to fight the impending battle in Congress—not decapitated in a vengeful internecine “cleansing”. Are Childress and Mrs. Meadows “implicated” too? Who will pay their legal bills when they are subpoenaed?

On the need for a forensic audit

One might reasonably expect that the Board will immediately initiate a fresh forensic audit of disbursements to outside contractors during Woody’s tenure. But the Board’s recent responses to discoveries of impropriety are not encouraging. It would hardly be surprising if there is simply an angry denunciation of the New Yorker article —which indeed was written by the same nefarious Bloomberg reporter as before— coupled with another tight-lipped announcement that nothing is wrong because everything has been “reviewed, vetted and approved”.


Get a tight grip: while Carolyn Meadows insists “everything is on track”, NRA looks headed for derailment. I feel sick.

UPDATE: As mentioned in the comments, not everyone uses Facebook. Fortunately, the entire “white paper” was published in Ammoland.com today. It can be found here. I would urge everyone to read it. 

Uncategorized

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.

Uncategorized

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.
Uncategorized

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.

Uncategorized

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.

Uncategorized

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.

Uncategorized

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
Uncategorized

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.

Uncategorized

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.