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All posts tagged "Wayne Lapierre"

NRA slashed spending on federal lobbying amid legal troubles

NRA slashed spending on federal lobbying amid legal troubles

This article originally appeared in OpenSecrets. Sign up for their weekly newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.

Following years of legal setbacks, internal strife and declining revenue, the National Rifle Association reported spending $540,000 in federal lobbying spending during the first quarter of 2024 — the least amount of money the group has spent at the start of a year since 2009, according to lobbying disclosures reviewed by OpenSecrets. Last year, the preeminent gun rights group spent $2.3 million, a near-record low.

In February, a New York jury found former NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre liable in a civil trial for misusing millions of dollars of the organization’s money to pay for his lavish lifestyle, including exotic getaways and trips on private planes. LaPierre resigned as executive vice president and CEO on the eve of the trial. ...

Ex-NRA head found liable for $5.4 million in civil corruption case: report

Ex-NRA head found liable for $5.4 million in civil corruption case: report

The National Rifle Organization and its former head, Wayne LaPierre, have been found liable for mismanagement in a civil corruption case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, reported ABC News on Friday.

The jury recommended that LaPierre be held for $5.4 million in damages; he has already repaid $1 million in the wake of the corruption scandal, according to reports.

"The New York Attorney General's Office sued the NRA and its senior management in 2020, claiming they misappropriated millions of dollars to fund personal benefits — including private jets, family vacations and luxury goods," reported Meredith Deliso, Aaron Katersky, and Peter Charalambous. "The accusations came at the end of a three-year investigation into the NRA, which is registered in New York as a nonprofit charitable corporation."...

Busted: Secret recording shows NRA treasurer plotting to conceal Wayne LaPierre's expenses

Busted: Secret recording shows NRA treasurer plotting to conceal Wayne LaPierre's expenses

This story was originally published by ProPublica in partnership with The Trace, a nonprofit news organization covering guns in America.

At a meeting in June 2009, the treasurer of the National Rifle Association worked out a plan to conceal luxury expenses involving its chief executive, Wayne LaPierre, according to audio of the meeting obtained by The Trace and ProPublica. The recording was unknown to New York’s attorney general, who is pursuing the NRA and LaPierre over a range of alleged financial misdeeds. It shows, in real time, the NRA’s treasurer enlisting the group’s longtime public relations firm to obfuscate the extravagant costs.

Captured on tape is talk of LaPierre’s desire to avoid public disclosure of his use of private jets as well as concern about persistent spending at the Beverly Hills Hotel by a PR executive and close LaPierre adviser.

During the meeting, which took place in the Alexandria, Virginia, office of PR firm Ackerman McQueen, executives agreed that Ackerman would issue a Platinum American Express card to Tyler Schropp, the new head of the NRA’s nascent advancement division, which was responsible for bringing in high-dollar contributions from wealthy donors. Ackerman would then cover the card’s charges and bill them back to the NRA under nondescript invoices. ...