Oliver North Will Not Seek Second Term As NRA President Amidst Pressure To Resign
Amidst an internal power struggle and pressure to resign, National Rifle Association (NRA) President Oliver North announced Saturday that he will not be serving a second term. According to Fox News, the announcement comes just one day after a letter, which CEO Wayne LaPierre sent to North, went public. In the letter, LaPierre pressured North to step down.
“Please know I hoped to be with you today as NRA president endorsed for reelection. I’m now informed that that will not happen,” North wrote in a letter read by an NRA board member.
North claims that the NRA would be wise to form a committee to investigate the organization’s finances, which he claims is a “clear crisis” that “needs to be dealt with” for the sake of its future.
Although LaPierre previously called North “the absolute best choice to lead our NRA Board,” it appears that his feelings have changed after North reportedly asked LaPierre to resign. Per CNN, LaPierre claims that North was attempting to extort him and says. But North wants an investigation into the NRA’s finances because he believes that LaPierre charged over $200,000 in wardrobe purchases to a vendor.
The dispute originated partially from a conflict between the NRA and contractor Ackerman McQueen Inc., the group’s longstanding public relations firm, which pushed the NRA to file a lawsuit earlier this month alleging that the company did not correctly record its finances.
Oliver North announced that he would not serve a second term as the president of the NRA https://t.co/gLpI2MdKfb
— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 27, 2019
LaPierre claims that North told him that he must resign or Ackerman McQueen Inc. will release a damaging letter to the NRA board.
“I believe the purpose of the letter was to humiliate me, discredit our Association, and raise appearances of impropriety that hurt our members and the Second Amendment. The letter would contain a devastating account of our financial status, sexual harassment charges against a staff member, accusations of wardrobe expenses and excessive staff travel expenses.”
North was president of the NRA for less than a year and failed to gain as much influence and internal support as LaPierre, who has been the face of the gun-rights movement for decades.
“Wayne has the confidence of a strong majority of the board,” Todd Rathner, a board member from Arizona, told the Associated Press.
As The Inquisitr reported, LaPierre’s support from the NRA is not mirrored outside of the organization, as he often draws the ire of gun control advocates.
North’s statement comes just a day after President Donald Trump made a speech at the NRA’s annual meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana. He used the appearance to announce that he’s pulling out of the United Nations arms trading treaty, per The Inquisitr.
