Former NRA president turns on group as he takes stand in corruption trial

Oliver North, former president of the National Rifle Association, testified in court Tuesday that the financial scandals of the pro-gun lobbying organization alleged by New York Attorney General Letitia James are accurate.

Law360's Stewart Bishop, who has been following the trial, explained that the retired lieutenant colonel confirmed that the NRA head, Wayne LaPierre, and his top leaders spent millions of dollars on personal perks that were improper.

Among the allegations in the lawsuit are that LaPierre spent more than $500,000 of the NRA's donor money to fly himself and his family to the Bahamas. There was more than $1 million spent on private jet travel between May 2015 and April 2019.

James alleges that LaPierre and his lieutenants spent millions of dollars in donors' money on private jets and other improper expenses in violation of New York nonprofit laws, and retaliated against whistleblowers who came forward.

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Tuesday marks day 11 of the trial. Oliver gave a statement to the AG, but he took the stand expressing his "shock" at the amount of money the group was spending, particularly when it comes to legal fees.

"In a letter to NRA board members at the time, North said in the first quarter of 2019, [Brewer Attorneys & Counselors] had billed more than $2.9 million per month, which works out to $97,787 a day," reported Bishop.

According to North, he kept asking LaPierre questions and encouraged the board to seek an independent audit, which was never carried out.

"Multiple times...I would say something like the Brewer bills are astronomical, these are extraordinary," North said, according to Bishop.

The law firm billed $24 million in just a 13-month period. LaPierre maintains that the law firm was worth every penny.

"He would say things like, 'Brewer is the reason why I'm not going to spend the rest of my life in an orange jumpsuit,'" North testified.

William Brewer and firm colleagues are representing the group in the existing lawsuit.

North complained he's been suffering with his own legal fees after he tried to sound the alarm on LaPierre. He was ultimately shoved out as president in April 2019.

North also claimed LaPierre figured out a scheme for him to be paid while working at the NRA. He had been working at Fox as the NRA president position isn't a paid one. But if he remained president, he would be forced to resign from Fox, he said.

So, LaPierre worked out a plan with North in which he would be hired by the advertising firm Ackerman McQueen, which works for the NRA. He would get $2 million from them, which would presumably be billed to the NRA for advertising services, North claimed.

"Wayne LaPierre said he would take care of it," North told the courtroom. "That being the contract with Ackerman and the position of president of the NRA."

Read Bishop's full thread from the proceedings here.