NRA

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The Response

July 23, 2019 by 1 Comment

The letter from Sean Maloney, Tim Knight, Esther Schneider, and Robert Brown provoked an almost immediate response from the NRA and NRA President Carolyn Meadows.

The official statement:

The response from Carolyn Meadows:

Both of these come courtesy of Stephen Gutowski of the Washington Free Beacon. He posted them on Twitter last night.

I seem to remember hearing or seeing a memo from Oliver North, Richard Childress, AND Carolyn Meadows which raised questions about the financial affairs. It seems that once she became president her views changed 180 degrees.

As to Brewer himself, if one were a conspiracy theorist, you would have a field day. Think about it: liberal Democrat lawyer, gives money to Beto and Hillary, AckMac son-in-law, worms his way into the confidence of the EVP of the NRA and starts a civil war within the organization in the run-up to the 2020 elections. Duplicity on this scale is worthy of a Vladimir Putin. Frankly, while some have suggested it, I don’t think Michael Bloomberg could have conceived on creating a mole like this.

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Substitute “NRA” For “Military” In This Article

July 21, 2019 by 3 Comments

Lt. Col. M. L. “Matt” Cavanaugh, Ph.D.,  just published an article entitled “How the Military Murders Meritocracy”. It was on the Modern War Institute at West Point’s website. Col. Cavanaugh is an active duty US Army strategist and a professor of practice with Arizona State University’s School of Politics and Global Studies.

Cavanaugh’s article dealt with military bureaucracy and the hindrance of a real meritocracy within it. He notes that soldier, sailors, marines, and airmen “self-silence” real and legitimate criticism because they fear a swift and painful reprisal by those above them. Doesn’t that sound like another large organization that I know and love?

Cavanaugh writes:

It’s under cover of that darkness that the rot in the system manifests in subtle ways. In a healthy meritocratic system, there would be a relatively free flow of honest feedback that enables the best idea, or the best person, to succeed—in respectful ways that improve organizational effectiveness. But that’s not the norm, as can be seen on any given day in any American military unit.


It’s the higher-ranking individual that ignores or denies or evades real problems flagged by a junior officer or noncommissioned officer. It’s the indirect, I-agree-with-you-completely-but-we-can’t-do-that-because-it-just-might-upset-someone-higher-up-the-chain conversation. It’s a subordinate’s quietly paralytic fear of confrontation with a senior.


Nobody talks about it, but it knocks military candor down at every turn, making us weaker all the time. Sometimes the emperor you serve isn’t wearing socks, or much of anything else, and as things stand in the US military, saying something about that nudity is so severely stifled it’s a wonder it ever happens. And our adversaries may be far from perfect, but they can certainly find the vulnerable chinks exposed by an emperor’s nudity.


Big, brittle systems with such weaknesses always get exploited. It’s a “when,” not an “if.”

If you were to substitute “NRA” for “military” and “manager” or “director” for “officer in these paragraphs, it could have been written about the National Rifle Association.

Ollie North and Richard Childress (and for a brief period, Carolyn Meadows) sought to get to the bottom of the some of the internal issues facing the NRA. Ollie and Richard are now in the wilderness and North is being sued by the NRA to avoid paying his rightful legal bills.

There are a number of board of directors members who are being quiet so as to avoid the further wrath of Wayne LaPierre and his henchmen (and women) in the Old Guard. Five directors have come out publicly saying they were removed from some or all of their committee assignments. There are more out there who have lost committee assignments yet have decided to not go public with it. The worst part about that is that Wayne is supposed to answer to the directors and not the other way around.

Our enemies who despise the Second Amendment as well as our freedoms know that the NRA is vulnerable. I get emails on a weekly – if not daily – basis from the Brady Campaign and the cult of personality known as Giffords saying the NRA is on its heels and please send us money. Attorneys General Letitia James (D-NY) and Karl Racine (D-DC) would not have issued subpoenas to the NRA if they didn’t sense weakness. The NRA is a “big, brittle system” and is getting those weaknesses exploited.

One thing I hear frequently is why doesn’t the Executive Committee or the entire Board of Directors just meet and vote Wayne out. If you’ve read the Bylaws you know it isn’t that simple. First, while the Executive Committee does have the power to suspend the Executive VP, it requires a 3/4s vote. That works out to 18 votes needed (3 officers plus 20 members elected from the BOD). However, to have a vote would require an Executive Committee meeting which is called at the discretion of the President. Second, the entire Board of Directors will be meeting in September in Alaska. If they decide to remove Wayne, it would take 57 votes. It just isn’t going to happen. I’m afraid the only way Wayne will leave is either in a hearse or if he gets a significantly large buyout to induce him to leave voluntarily. That is reality. Unfortunately.

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Intended For Efficiency, Control, Or Both?

July 19, 2019 by

A memo went out today from Wayne LaPierre. Among the things in the memo was a consolidation of the public affairs function and digital networks, the production in-house of America’s 1st Freedom, and news about NRA Women. This follows Wednesday’s departure of Jennifer Baker from her position as Director of Public Affairs for NRA-ILA.

One wonders whether this consolidation is for cost savings and efficiency as suggested by the memo or is it a matter of consolidating power in the hands of trusted appartchiks? It could, of course, be the former with the latter being just a beneficial side effect if you are Wayne and the Old Guard.

The memo is reproduced below:

cid:16c0bd5b1d64ce8e91
 
MEMORANDUM
TO:                             All NRA Staff and Associates
FROM:                       
Wayne LaPierre, Executive Vice President/CEO     
DATE:
                       July 19, 2019 
SUBJECT:                 NRA Communications Update
Today’s announcements are about positioning ourselves for prosperous long-term growth. We are announcing key
restructuring initiatives that are expected to drive a momentous transformation to meet association demands logistically, financially, to efficiently compete in our markets, and most importantly to better serve our members.
Restructuring Initiatives:
NRA Public Affairs
NRA Public Affairs serves an important function as the voice of the NRA to our members, the news media, and key stakeholders. As an organization, it is critical that our public outreach is highly coordinated, our
messaging is consistent, and our external communications are oriented toward our mission:  defense of the Second Amendment.
 
In support of these goals, I am pleased to announce a restructuring of the NRA Public Affairs Department. Effective immediately, I am consolidating all our media and communications functions under one department,
NRA Public Affairs. This division will serve all of the NRA’s needs for public affairs, social media, and crisis communications. This department will coordinate official spokesperson duties for all of the NRA, including NRA-ILA and General Operations.
 
NRA Public Affairs will report directly to the Executive Vice President through the Managing Director of Public Affairs, Andrew Arulanandam. As you may know, Andrew has more than 18 years’ experience working in all
phases of communications for the NRA and NRA-ILA. He has a strong background in media relations and executive communications and will continue to serve the NRA well.  
 
These changes will not only enhance our public advocacy, eliminate duplication of efforts, but also help us realize cost savings on behalf of our members.
NRA Digital Network
Effective immediately, Information Services will oversee all technical development and support for all NRA web properties. With the exception of Membership, NRA ILA, and
NRA.org, NRA Publications will manage the editorial creation, review, and posting of online content.  Publications will also manage advertising sales for websites, e-newsletters, video, and social media.  General
Operations will continue to use the same existing process submitting e-newsletters and content changes to their properties as supplied by program managers. This is a key initiative to generate new sources of revenue moving forward as well as providing a more
unified digital package.
An announcement will be made shortly for a seminar to be scheduled with key stakeholders to clarify the updated procedures going forward.
America’s 1st Freedom
America’s 1st Freedom
will be exclusively produced in-house by NRA Publications. A new Editor-in-Chief, Frank Miniter, has joined NRA Publications and reports to Editorial Director, John Zent. We are confident that under their leadership,
we will maintain our commitment to quality journalism. Please join me in welcoming Frank Miniter to his new assignment.
NRA Women’s Digital Initiative
NRA Women will unify all of the NRA’s online outreach to this growing segment of firearm owners while continuing to have General Operations, Advancement, and Membership operate their respective initiatives. We will
have a destination site which merges all of our efforts into a more cohesive package optimized for search engines with fresh innovative content published on a daily basis. NRA Women will be an important component of the NRA Digital Network. Reporting to Editorial
Director John Zent, Ann Y. Smith will serve as the Senior Executive Editor for NRA Women. With years of experience as a Senior Executive Editor for
AmericanRifleman.org, Ann will lead our editorial efforts to grow and engage new audiences with a particular emphasis on mobile, social, and video features. 
A digital seminar will be announced at a future date to discuss specifics with stakeholders.
The restructuring efforts above are as a result of extensive research, reflection, and listening to the concerns and suggestions from
staff and key stakeholders. We aim to utilize our innovation on an all-encompassing scale while unifying the underlying processes and sales/advertising opportunities critical to our organizational health and vitality. 
I know these changes will
better position the NRA for the future and am confident that our new structure will enable us to benefit from the many extraordinary opportunities ahead. 
 
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Tom Gresham On The NRA And LaPierre

July 16, 2019 by 6 Comments

Tom Gresham, host of Gun Talk Radio, has called for Wayne LaPierre to step down. He addressed the troubles with the NRA this past Sunday on his radio show. To anyone who doubts his credentials in service to the Second Amendment, I’d remind them he is on the Board of Directors for the Second Amendment Foundation and on the Board of Governors of the National Shooting Sports Foundation plus his long running radio show.

His comments start at the 2:08 mark and end at 11:54. It is worth spending the 10 minutes to listen to Tom’s entire commentary.

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Another AG Gets Into The Act (Against The NRA)

July 12, 2019 by 2 Comments

First it was NY Attorney General Letitia James who issued subpoenas to the National Rifle Association as part of an investigation to see whether they are violating New York’s non-profit organization laws. Now it seems that Karl Racine, Attorney General for the District of Columbia, wants to get into the action.

From the Washington Post which first reported it:

The office of Attorney General Karl A. Racine is seeking financial documents from the NRA and its foundation. The NRA Foundation is chartered in the District and the NRA is registered as a nonprofit and does business there.

“The Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia has issued subpoenas to the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) and the NRA Foundation, Inc., as part of an investigation into whether these entities violated the District’s Nonprofit Act,” Racine said in a statement.

He continued: “We are seeking documents from these two nonprofits detailing, among other things, their financial records, payments to vendors, and payments to officers and directors.”

The Code of the District of Columbia gives the Attorney General significant powers when it comes to non-profit corporations. The Attorney General can seek the dissolution of a non-profit, can impose “a constructive trust” on compensation for directors, officers, and managers, and can seek other equitable or injunctive relief as the courts deem necessary. The language of the code gives him great leeway in bringing such actions. For example, if he deems that the corporation has “continued to act contrary to its nonprofit purposes”, this give his office grounds to bring actions in court. That language is so wide open that virtually any non-profit could be taken to court if the Attorney General has an axe to grind. Racine has used these laws against the Trump inaugural committee and the Catholic Church.

How many more of these type actions will it take for the Wayne LaPierre loyalists on the NRA Board of Directors to realize that they have a serious problem on their hands? I fear that unfortunately all we will get is another “ignore the man behind the curtain, all is OK” statement from the Meadows-Cotton-Lee cabal as opposed to the concrete actions needed to shore up the NRA.

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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. 

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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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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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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.