Is The NRA In Trouble? Oliver North Steps Down As President Amid Controversy With Wayne LaPierre

Oliver North, the retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel known for his role in the Iran-Contra scandal, announced he will not seek a second term as NRA president while claiming he was forced out of the position due to his allegations that leaders of the gun-rights group engaged in financial improprieties.

On Saturday morning at the NRA's national convention in Indianapolis, Richard Childress, one of the NRA's vice-presidents, read the exit letter from North, who was named NRA president in May 2018.

"Please note, I hoped to be with you today as interim president endorsed for reelection. I'm now informed that will now not happen," Childress read. "I’ve been on the NRA board for more than two decades, it was a great privilege to serve as your president this past year."

North had called for an emergency management meeting in a memo that stated a "clear crisis that needs to be dealt with immediately and responsibly so the NRA can continue to focus on protecting our 2nd Amendment."

At the heart to the NRA's apparent struggles is a lawsuit it filed this month against Ackerman McQueen, an Oklahoma City-based public relations firm, over access to documents detailing how the firm spent money. The lawsuit comes amid a looming investigation by New York state regulators that could call into question the NRA's tax exemption status as a non-profit.

Ackerman McQueen, who has represented the NRA for several years, called the suit "frivolous" and "inaccurate."

Talk has recently surfaced of infighting between North and executive vice president Wayne LaPierre, who reportedly sent a letter to board members Thursday about how North was looking to oust him by releasing damaging information. North had written a letter to the NRA's executive committee about more than $200,000 in wardrobe purchases by LaPierre.

According to the Wall Street Journal, North had said that unless LaPierre resigned, Ackerman McQueen would send a letter to the NRA board that would be "bad for me, two other members of my executive team and the Association."

In addition to LaPierre's wardrobe expense, the letter would include "a devastating account of our financial status, sexual harassment charges against a staff member ... and excessive staff travel expenses," the Journal noted, and that LaPierre would have to pull the lawsuit against Ackerman McQueen or face getting "smeared."

A vote Saturday by NRA members failed in its attempt to remove LaPierre from a leadership role he’s held since 1991.

The NRA has sought details about Ackerman McQueen's contract with North, who hosted a program on NRATV that Ackerman McQueen produced. There have been three episodes of the program.

A report on April 17 by Mike Spies of the New Yorker and the Trace detailed the internal struggle at the NRA and cited how it paid Ackerman McQueen $40.9 million in 2017. While spending a great deal on messaging, Spies noted that the NRA has been running annual deficits as much as $40 million.

In July, the FBI arrested and charged Russian national Maria Butina for conspiracy to act as an unregistered foreign agent of Russia. Butina had established a relationship between the NRA and her initiative, "Right to Bear Arms." A federal judge on Friday sentenced Butina to 18 months in prison.