purges

Uncategorized

Now On To NRA Committee Assignments

May 29, 2024 by 6 Comments

The real work of the NRA Board of Directors is done in the various committees. These committees range from the Audit, Finance, and Ethics Committee to Outreach, Federal Affairs, and Legislative Affairs. Officially, it will be new NRA President Bob Barr who selects the members for all these committees. More on that later.

There is also the Special Litigation Committee, the Nominating Committee, and the Executive Committee. This last group of committees had its members selected at the Board meeting after the Annual Meeting. The Special Litigation Committee is, by default, composed of the officers. (see correction) The Nominating Committee is a nine-member committee with reformers holding a 5-4 majority. It will now be chaired by Charlie Beers who is Chairman Pro Tem (highest vote getter).

Going back to 2019, you may remember that a number of reformist Board members were purged from their committee assignments for asking the wrong questions and given no committees upon which to serve. This was done by former NRA President Carolyn Meadows presumably with the approval of then-EVP Wayne LaPierre. Among those purged from their committee assignments were Esther Schneider, Tim Knight, Sean Maloney, Duane Liptak, and Allen West. All five ended up resigning from the Board. This retaliation against these Board members became an issue in the New York trial. The jury found that the NRA had retaliated against them in violation of New York’s whistleblower law. The video deposition of Carolyn Meadows on retaliation helped in this finding.

NRA President Bob Barr has a unique opportunity to show Judge Joel Cohen that the NRA has reformed enough that it will not need a special monitor. He can grab this opportunity if and only if he does certain things. First and foremost, he should consult with Bill Bachenberg and Mark Vaughan on the appointment of committee members and make these appointments in a balanced manner such that reformers are fairly represented. For example, I think Rocky Marshall, one of the Four for Reform, has the requisite knowledge and experience to be valued addition to the Finance Committee. Likewise, who better than a judge like Phil Journey to serve on Legal Affairs. Additionally, the appointment of the chair and vice chairs of the committees needs to be even handed.

Second, Barr needs to be transparent in his appointment of committee members. In the past, the composition of committees was rarely, if ever, disclosed. This needs to change. The members of the NRA deserve to know who is serving on each and every committee whether it is a Board member or an outside appointee.

Finally, and this is a critical point, Charles Cotton and David Coy must not be allowed to continue to serve on either the Audit or Finance Committees. Their abdication of their fiduciary duties while heading the Audit and Finance Committees was one of the reasons that the New York Attorney General’s Office was able to a) bring the lawsuit in the first place and b) successfully win their case with the jury. Allowing either of them to continue to serve on these important committees would send a sign to both Judge Cohen and the membership of the NRA that the leadership of the NRA was not serious about cleaning up the organization. Members and potential members will continue to keep their wallets closed if they remain in place. Frankly, I think the greatest service that they could do for the NRA which they profess to love would be to resign from the Board altogether.

CORRECTION: I was wrong in assuming that the Special Litigation Committee members were selected by position. That is that it was to be composed of the President, 1st VP, and 2nd VP.

According to a Board resolution in January 2021, the SLC was to be composed of Carolyn Meadows, Charles Cotton, and Willes Lee. That all three were officers was merely coincidental. After then-1st VP Willes Lee resigned from the SLC, it was later reconstituted by Board resolution to add David Coy and perhaps Bob Barr.

The key thing to remember about the Special Litigation Committee is that it only concerned matters dealing with the New York Attorney General’s case against the NRA. The rationale for even having it was that given the NRA’s then-CEO/EVP Wayne LaPierre and then-General Counsel John Frazer were named defendants in the case their participation in decision making regarding the case would be a conflict of interest.

Uncategorized

The Purge Continues At The NRA

August 23, 2019 by 5 Comments

The ascendancy of William Brewer and his law firm at the NRA is almost complete. Danny Hakim of the New York Times reported that Charles Cooper of Cooper and Kirk had been dismissed as an outside counsel to the NRA. Cooper and his firm had handled much of the NRA’s lawsuits in the past number of years.

Now Mr. LaPierre is continuing to purge opponents. On Thursday, the N.R.A. dismissed its longtime outside counsel, Charles J. Cooper, the chairman of the Washington law firm Cooper & Kirk, people with knowledge of the decision said. A second outside counsel and a top in-house counsel resigned. The departures come after an internal inquiry showed that the lawyers were involved in an effort to undermine Mr. LaPierre.

From what I have gathered from multiple sources, the “internal inquiry” consists of Josh Powell and William Brewer dragging people into a room and interrogating them for hours on end. If your inquiry team consists of a business failure and an attorney under an ethical cloud the results will be whatever is most likely to feed Wayne LaPierre’s paranoid fantasy of the day.

But as the informercial says, wait! It gets better.

The N.R.A. is also considering halting payments to its former second in command, Christopher Cox, who left in June but is still on the payroll, said the people, who insisted on anonymity to discuss internal matters.

The article continues with the assertion that Cooper, Cox, and others were secretly working with AckMac as part of the supposed coup to depose Wayne. Hakim in his story says he is working with documents that have come to light as a result of the NRA’s lawsuit against Oliver North. If I had to hazzard a guess, I’d say the documents came from Brewer and his firm as they seem to have Hakim on speed dial.

Hakim concludes his story by writing (and including a link to my blog’s namesake):

The unraveling of lawyers, guns and money coincides with the departures of half a dozen board members in recent weeks. But Mr. LaPierre remains center stage, as polarizing as ever.

“Donald Trump and Wayne LaPierre are made for each other,” said Peter Ambler, executive director of Giffords, the gun control group started by former Representative Gabrielle Giffords. He called them “mirror images” engulfed in “allegations of corruption and mismanagement.”

But Todd Rathner, a member of the N.R.A.’s board, said, “Wayne is leading and proving that he has the political juice to get the job done.”

 Given the White House’s backtracking from what Wayne reported of his conversation with President Trump, I’d question Rathner’s last statement. He might have the juice to purge his supposed enemies within the NRA but I sincerely doubt his political effectiveness on the national scene anymore.

Uncategorized

The Old Guard Is Not Happy And Marion Wants Us To Know It

July 15, 2019 by 4 Comments

Marion Hammer, former NRA president and WLP supporter extraordinaire, sent out a public email today that was posted to Facebook. She takes the position that the purges are the prerogative of the president and that those who got purged were “not professional”. What an utter crock of bullshit.

Those purged – and especially those whose purge hasn’t been made public yet – are, on the whole, some of the most professional, most responsible, most cognizant of their fiduciary responsibility, and most serious about the Second Amendment on the whole board. That they are not toadies to Wayne and his posse says something about their dedication to the mission of the NRA which is the Second Amendment and not the preservation of Wayne’s job.

Since Ms. Hammer chooses to include bloggers as those that have suspect motives, let me tell you mine with regard to the NRA. As an Endowment Life member I want to see a stronger, more pro-active advocate for the Second Amendment. Moreover, while I am a conservative/libertarian, I want the NRA to focus exclusively on the Second Amendment and gun rights. I don’t care what your position is on abortion, I don’t care whether you approve or disapprove of the LGBTQ community, and I don’t care about hundreds of extraneous issues not related to the Second Amendment. I care about the Second Amendment. Period. Finally, as someone who has served as both an officer and on the Board of Directors of a non-profit organization, I want to see a Board of Directors taking their fiduciary responsibility seriously and making the hired management subservient to them and not vice-versa. Unfortunately, it seems that the Board is subservient to Wayne and not the other way around.

Read Ms. Hammer’s entire missive and make up your own mind. I’ve reprinted it below.

—–Original Message—–
From: mphammer1
To: MPHammer1
Sent: Sun, Jul 14, 2019 12:06 pm
Subject: Committee Assignments

DATE: July 14, 2019
TO: NRA Board Members and Friends
FROM: Marion P. Hammer, NRA Past President
RE: Committee Assignments

Committee assignments are the prerogative of the President of the National Rifle Association of America. The assignment process is taken very seriously with meetings in person and even more meetings over teleconferences. I don’t know of any NRA President who hasn’t consulted with other officers and leaders before making the final selections.

This year the process took longer because there were numerous discussions. To say that this year is unlike any other would be an understatement. The NRA finds itself under attack. These attacks are well funded. They are well coordinated. They come from noteworthy and powerful gun control advocates.

But, they are not the only ones attacking the NRA. We are also under attack by one of our former vendors. These attacks have been particularly nasty and have played out in the press.

And, it doesn’t stop there. Some within our ranks – members of the NRA Board of Directors – have joined in these attacks. There have been leaks of proprietary and confidential information to the front pages of newspapers, websites and social media pages.

Members of the board have a fiduciary responsibility to act in the best interests of our Association. Yet, some have chosen not to do so. When given the opportunity to speak their minds, silence was chosen. And now, after the time to be heard in an appropriate setting has passed, the agitation continues. That is truly unfortunate.

We must now move on. Those who truly care about the Second Amendment and Freedom will move on. The NRA has real work to do. We have significant challenges – the 2019 elections and of course the pivotal 2020 elections. Let’s not forget, we must get through these politically motivated witch hunts in New York and now the District of Columbia.

Some board members were, in fact, stripped of their committee assignments. I know that was a hard decision. But, we stand behind it. I went through it myself in 1997 and it was the right thing to do. Some have made reference to a “naughty” and a “nice” list. But it’s actually more of a “professional” and “not professional” list. There are 76 of us. We don’t expect all of us to march lockstep. But, we must will hold steadfast that board members must act in a professional manner. That is a non-negotiable.

To those who are seeking facts, it is recommended that you review our legal documents – including the attachments – all available in the public arena. If you have trouble accessing these documents, simply request them and they will be emailed to you. Using news stories, a blog or social media post or relying on leaks to form your judgements only means that you’re forming your opinions based on the viewpoint of the author. Who knows what their motives may be?

There are also numerous well-informed board members who have taken the time and made the effort to learn the facts rather than rely on falsehoods and gossip. Reach out to them – it is your duty and in the NRA’s best interests that you inform yourself of what the NRA is really facing and what the NRA is really doing about it.

As I said earlier, these committee assignments are – and always have been – the prerogative of the President. Those who didn’t get an assignment might want to consider whether or not they want to help us save the Second Amendment or continue on a course detrimental to NRA and our mission. The decision is ultimately theirs.”

Uncategorized

The Purges Continue, Part IV

July 14, 2019 by 1 Comment

In my Facebook feed this morning I saw another member of the NRA Board of Directors got cut off from his committees. This time it is LTC Robert Brown who has been a board member for a long time and has been outspoken about things including AckMac for years. Brown is the founder and publisher of Soldier of Fortune magazine.

From his Facebook post:

FYI, all SoF’ers… I also have been dropped off “Grassroots Development Committee,” “Veteran’s Affairs,” and “Legislative Policy.” No body in the NRA power structure has the guts to explain to me why this was done. NRA leadership lacks any moral character and basically falls under the label of loathsome toads.

I don’t know if this represent all committees that Col. Brown served on or not. I do have a message into him asking about that.

UPDATE: Col. Brown was reappointed to the Publications Committee and the Special Contributions Committee but dropped from those mentioned above. He was kind enough to respond to my Facebook messenger question.

Uncategorized

The Purges Continue, Part III

July 12, 2019 by 1 Comment

Another day and another NRA Board member reports that he has been removed from all his committees. In this case, it is Sean Maloney of Ohio. He, along with Tim Knight, are two of the stalwarts of the grass roots in the NRA. When the recall campaign began in Colorado a few years ago, both he and Tim answered the call and went to Colorado to help in the successful effort.

You may also recall that when CarryGuard was introduced, a number of companies that offered legal protection services for concealed carriers were summarily disinvited to the NRA Annual Meeting and Expo in Atlanta. Sean Maloney’s Second Call Defense was one of those organizations.

Below is the form letter that Sean received from NRA President Carolyn Meadows.

Sean responded to Mrs. Meadows with this letter:

July 12, 2019


Carolyn D. Meadows
President NRA
National Rifle Association of America
11250 Waples Mill Road
Fairfax, VA 22030


RE: NRA Committee Assignments for 2019-2020


Dear Madam President,


I recently received notification from you, that you removed me from all my NRA Board of Directors Committee Assignments, with no explanation. Even after repeated phone calls to you, which resulted in voicemails asking for a return call, I still have not received a return phone call, letter or email of explanation.


Shockingly, you even removed me from the NRA-ILA Grassroots Development Committee, after many years of serving on that committee with perfect attendance. After years of volunteer grassroots activism, I was recognized in 2010 with the NRA-ILA Jay M. Littlefield Volunteer of the Year Award and recognized on the floor of the Ohio House of Representatives for my work as an Election Volunteer Coordinator for NRA-ILA in Ohio.


In 2012, I was inducted into the NRA-ILA Election Volunteer Coordinator Hall of Fame, resulting from my time and dedication to the Grassroots Division as an Election Volunteer Coordinator.


Over the years, as a Volunteer for the NRA, paying my own way for travel expenses, and receiving no compensation from the NRA, I have continued to dedicate myself to grassroots activism.


In 2013, I traveled to Colorado to participate in the successful recall election effort of two anti-gun Senators. Again, in 2013, I traveled to Virginia under the direction of NRA-ILA Grassroots Division to campaign on behalf of pro-gun Gubernatorial, Senate of Virginia and Virginia House of Delegates Candidates.


In 2014, I traveled to Connecticut, Iowa and Ohio, under the direction of NRA-ILA Grassroots Division and campaigned on behalf of Federal State and Local pro-gun candidates during Primary and General Elections.


In 2015, I traveled to Virginia under the direction of NRA-ILA Grassroots Division to campaign on behalf of Senate of Virginia and Virginia House of Delegates pro-gun Candidates.


In 2016, I traveled to Florida to assist in the General Election; that same election cycle I returned to Ohio where I volunteered for the top NRA-ILA Campaign Field Office in the Country, in support of Donald Trump, and other Federal, State and Local candidates.


In 2018, I campaigned in Ohio under the direction of NRA-ILA Grassroots Division on behalf of Federal, State, and Local candidates. I also hosted a pro-gun meet and greet Ohio Candidate Forum for all Federal, State, and Local pro-gun candidates up for election in Ohio. In Ohio, under the direction of the NRA-ILA, I assisted in successfully electing a 100% pro-gun Executive Slate.


Earlier this year, in May, I co-hosted a shooting event for my pro-gun Congressman Warren Davidson. Most recently, I traveled to Sandusky County, Ohio, and spoke to a “100 NRA Club” considering ending its affiliation with the NRA, because of recent concerns. I successfully persuaded them to remain an NRA Club.


Yet, after all I have done in support of the Grassroots Development Committee, and all the other NRA Committees of which I faithfully served, I was blacklisted. I can only surmise, that I was blacklisted for taking actions to obey my oath as an NRA Board Member, and follow the Code of Ethics for Directors of Nonprofit Corporations; which required me to exercise my fiduciary duty of care; which caused me to question management decisions within the NRA, and to further investigate matters of which I was made aware.


I respectfully request that you reconsider your decision to remove me from all Committees, particularly the Grassroots Development Committee, and reappoint me to the Grassroots Development Committee, and further communicate to me your rational for removing me from all my Committee assignments.


Very truly yours,


/s/ Sean Maloney


Sean Maloney


enclosure

Sean is only the latest Board member to acknowledge his removal from committees. There will be more to come. Of that you can be sure.

Uncategorized

The Purge Continues, Part II (Updated)

July 10, 2019 by 2 Comments

More NRA Board of Directors are announcing that they’ve received notification of being removed from their prior committees. The latest is Duane Liptak. In addition to being a board member, he is the Executive VP of Magpul Industries as well as a veteran of the US Marine Corps where he served as both an infantryman and as a F/A-18 pilot.

From his Facebook post:

I’ve been out of the office, but I’m back now. Last year, I was chairman of the education and training committee, I was on military and veterans affairs, and I was on sport shooting and action shooting. I’ve repeatedly requested finance and legislative policy since I started my involvement with the NRA, and I have attended those meetings whenever I could. I guess I’ll have less schedule conflicts to worry about when attending other meetings since I’ve been stripped of all my formal committee assignments except action shooting. I guess at least Julie A. Golob still likes me. 😁 Despite a lot of effort on my part to promote the importance of the organization and remind folks of the capabilities of the NRA that we must preserve as we move forward, I have landed on the “naughty list”. This needs to get sorted out, now.

Duane is correct about his role in promoting the importance of the NRA. A quick Google search shows open letters from him as well as an op-ed stressing the role of the NRA in promoting and preserving gun rights.

You can see his committee assignment below.

I guess since Duane is assigned to at least one committee, he is only on the slightly naughty list unlike Tim, Allen, and Esther who are on the really naughty list. I’m not sure what he said to run afoul of Wayne and his toadies but he must have said something.

UPDATE: It was confirmed to me today that Tiffany Johnson was removed from the Outreach Committee. Given she is an attorney, a trainer with Rangemaster, a woman, and not the least a person of color, removing her from that committee in retribution for her open letter to the Board of Directors was both stupid and vindictive. As she says in her blog post about her service on the committee, her suggestions and comments were well received until “the letter”.  Just when the NRA needs to be broadening its base and have the ideal person to help in Tiffany, they do something like this. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Uncategorized

The Purges Continue

July 8, 2019 by 2 Comments

When you ran afoul of Josef Stalin, if you were lucky you got sent to the gulag. If you were not so lucky, you got the proverbial ounce of lead and burial in an unmarked grave. You were also airbrushed out of any picture in which you appeared with the General Secretary.

The picture above illustrates what I mean.

Mao and the Chinese Communists engaged in similar erasures. Qin Bangxian aka Bo Gu was the 3rd General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party who ran afoul of Mao. He died in a mysterious plane crash along with other senior Party officials after attending a conference as a delegate of the CCP. You can see him in the far left of the first photo with Mao on the far right.

Committees are where much of the work of the National Rifle Association’s board gets done. You usually are assigned to a board where you have a history. For example, a long time competitor might be assigned to a committee dealing with competitions while someone who has a history in the grass roots is assigned to the grass roots committee.

Just like with Stalin’s purges, members of the NRA Board of Directors who have spoken out are now being erased. In this case, they are being removed from their committee assignments. While the letters are signed by NRA President Carolyn Meadows, I think the assumption is that these purges are at the instigation of Wayne LaPierre.

The first to report this was Tim Knight in a Facebook post on June 30th.

And now the retribution: Because I publicly expressed concern over current NRA management’s leadership and spurious spending, I am being punished. It has come down from the Officers of the NRA, as I publicly predicted, I will not be given any committee assignments. 

Tim does remain a member of the Board of Directors. For now.

Next to report being purged was Lt.Col. Allen West. A copy of his letter is below.

 Finally, Esther Quisenberry Schneider disclosed that she has been purged from all committee assignments. As her comments on her letter make clear, it comes after she has spoken out and has called for Wayne LaPierre to resign.

I have a feeling that these three are merely the tip of the iceberg.