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THE NRA APRIL 23, 2019
IN CRISIS
The NRA As the National Rifle Association prepares to meet for its 2019 annual convention
in Indianapolis, the NRA’s senior leadership and board of directors are confronted
is becoming
with numerous questions about the organization’s recent management practices
more fringe and its financial future. In the past 18 months, a spate of investigative news reports
and more and governmental investigations have shown the NRA to be in a state of crisis with
toxic to the the result being diminished influence in the legislative, political, and public arenas.
Americans Day by day, the NRA is becoming more fringe and more toxic to the Americans it
it has long has long claimed to represent.
claimed to Indeed, contrary to the NRA’s self-proclaimed image as an all-American organization
represent. for hunters and sportsmen, the organization is entangled in scandals.
THE NRA IN CRISIS everytownresearch.org/nra-in-crisis
Secrecy, Self-Dealing,
and Greed at the N.R.A.
The New Yorker
The questions and allegations about the NRA include:
• The apparent collapse of the NRA’s relationship with its most significant
business partner, Ackerman McQueen, including a recently filed NRA lawsuit
that seeks information about potentially improper billing practices by Ackerman,
and Ackerman’s response that the NRA was acting with “malicious intent”;
• Payments and other financial arrangements with executives and insiders
at the NRA that resulted in millions of proceeds going to these executives and
insiders;
• The NRA’s murky business and election campaign practices;
• The NRA’s ties to Russia and admitted Kremlin agent Maria Butina;
• Defections from the business community because of the growing realization
that the NRA is an extremist organization;
• Filings reporting weak financials and deficits in the last two reporting years,
including the startling admission that regulatory oversight in New York State
“threatens the financial growth and overall trajectory of the organization”; and
• Evidence it was outspent by gun safety groups in the 2018 midterm elections.
Perhaps then, it’s no wonder that as its brand becomes increasingly toxic,
the NRA’s favorability ratings are underwater for the first time in nearly
20 years.1 This report details serious questions about the NRA’s leadership
and the organization’s financial health heading into the critical 2020
presidential election.
As he takes the stage in Indianapolis, the NRA’s executive vice president Wayne
LaPierre will no doubt extol the NRA’s strength. Here are the NRA stories that you
won’t hear from the convention floor this weekend, ones that point to potential
trouble for LaPierre and the NRA.
2 THE NRA IN CRISIS everytownresearch.org/nra-in-crisis
THE COLLAPSE OF THE NRA’S
RELATIONSHIP WITH LONGTIME
PARTNER ACKERMAN McQUEEN
The NRA has long worked with the public relations firm Ackerman McQueen to
shape and brand the organization’s image. Indeed, Ackerman was reportedly vital
to securing NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre’s leadership position
within the NRA and reportedly serves as trusted counsel to LaPierre.2
Among other work, Ackerman has crafted public messaging for the NRA and helped
create and produce NRATV3, and its predecessor NRA News.4 In 2017, the NRA’s
aggregate payments to Ackerman McQueen, and its subsidiary the Mercury Group,
totaled nearly $40 million alone 5 (12 percent of the NRA’s overall expenses),6 and
financial reports indicate Ackerman McQueen has netted well-over $100 million in
payments since 2012.7 However, over the past year, as the NRA’s crises deepened,
there have been several points of contention between Ackerman and the NRA.
Most notably, the NRA this month filed a lawsuit against Ackerman in Circuit Court
in Alexandria, Virginia, seeking to compel Ackerman to provide records that justify
its billings to the NRA.8 In reporting on the lawsuit, the Wall Street Journal indicated
that “[t]he NRA is concerned the ad firm may be overcharging for certain items”,
including salaries for Ackerman employees.9 Ackerman responded to the lawsuit
saying the NRA acted with “malicious intent” and further raised questions about
whether the NRA’s lawyer, William Brewer, was ethically conflicted due to familial
ties to Ackerman leadership.10
3 THE NRA IN CRISIS everytownresearch.org/nra-in-crisis“NRA pays overbilled, deceptive, vague invoices
to ‘preferred’ vendors and contractors”
Per reporting in The New Yorker, the NRA Board of Directors Audit Committee held
an “emergency meeting” in July 2018 to discuss “whistleblowing reports” relating
to vendor arrangements. The same report indicates that documentation was
prepared ahead of that meeting listing concerns such as “NRA pays overbilled,
deceptive, vague invoices to ‘preferred’ vendors and contractors” and “decisions
are made in the best interests of vendors,” not the organization. The New Yorker
also reported that internally prepared documents indicated that “about a quarter
of the organization’s staff is now managed by former employees of Ackerman
who have been hired by the NRA” and that this situation created “financial
conflicts of interest.” 11
Reports indicate that current NRA president Oliver North has a contract with
Ackerman.12 The exact details of this contract have not been publicly disclosed,
although The New Yorker recently reported the contract was worth “roughly a
million dollars” annually.13 When the NRA reportedly attempted to obtain detailed
information about this contract from Ackerman, North reportedly refused to
provide documents about the compensation without Ackerman’s approval.14
Marc Owens, who for ten years headed the IRS division overseeing
tax-exempt enterprises, said, “[t]he litany of red flags is just extraordinary …
The materials reflect one of the broadest arrays of likely transgressions that I’ve
ever seen. There is a tremendous range of what appears to be the misuse of
assets for the benefit of certain venders and people in control ... Those facts, if
confirmed, could lead to the revocation of the NRA’s tax-exempt status."
The New York Times reported that some NRA board members are openly
questioning the utility of NRATV to the organization.15 This comes after, among
other incidents, an NRATV program that drew widespread condemnation for
depicting the children’s character Thomas the Tank Engine wearing a KKK hood.16
The NRA’s lawsuit against Ackerman references this directly, saying “certain NRA
stakeholders were also concerned that NRATV’s messaging—on topics far afield of
the Second Amendment—deviated from the NRA’s core mission and values.” 17
NRA board member Joel Friedman was quoted questioning Ackerman’s role as
the organization’s top vendor, especially in light of Ackerman’s refusal to provide
financial documents. “It leaves you questioning, and you can come up with
all these potential different scenarios as to why, but none of them are good,”
Friedman said to the New York Times. “My mind goes to: Are they overcharging
us? That’s one,” he added. “Two, are there things charged to us that were not part
of the contract? Then, No. 3, has there been a misallocation of personnel?”18
4 THE NRA IN CRISIS everytownresearch.org/nra-in-crisisQUESTIONABLE FINANCIAL
ARRANGEMENTS AND PAYMENTS
TO NRA INSIDERS
Over the past year, there have been several revelations of NRA executives and
insiders involved in questionable financial transactions and/or potential financial
improprieties. These issues involve millions in organizational funds and include:
• A former NRA managing director, Michael Marcellin, was paid $978,179 by an
insurance company, Lockton Affinity, that conducted business with the NRA from
2016-2017.19 These payments occurred in the same years Marcellin was a highly
compensated NRA executive, earning $645,899 in 2016 20 and $713,975 in 201721
(according to NRA regulatory filings). The NRA revealed this arrangement for the
first time this year, saying the details were “inadvertently excluded” from past
financial disclosures.22 However, recent reporting indicates that the NRA Board of
Directors was not aware that Marcellin was receiving income from both the NRA
and Lockton Affinity.23
• Since 2010, the NRA has reportedly paid media production company, “Under
Wild Skies,” $18 million,24 including $2,635,000 in 2017 alone.25 Under Wild Skies’
former-treasurer is the NRA’s executive director at the Office of Advancement,
Tyler Schropp. Schropp took home a robust $622,280 salary from the NRA
in 2017.26 According to reporting from the New York Times, Schropp had a stake in
Under Wild Skies “until at least 2017.” 27
• Between 201628 and 2017,29 the NRA paid $1,395,000 to HWS Consulting Inc., a firm
whose owner, Wayne Sheets, is the NRA Foundation’s longtime executive director.30
The NRA admitted that the NRA Foundation had “inadvertently omitted” Mr. Sheets
as an executive officer from its previous regulatory filings.31 Reporting from The
New Yorker indicates that HWS Consulting's contract stipulated a “base monthly
consulting fee” to be paid “regardless of the number of consulting hours provided
by the Consultant” and that Mr. Sheets received an additional two hundred and
forty thousand dollars in expense reimbursements.32
NRA Awarded Contracts to Firms with
Ties to Top Officials
The Wall Street Journal
5 THE NRA IN CRISIS everytownresearch.org/nra-in-crisisGun Control Group Files Complaint
Over the NRA's Tax-Exempt Status
The Hill
• In 2017, the NRA Foundation paid $3,065,031 to Crow Shooting Supply, a company
owned by former NRA president Pete Brownell.33 The Foundation has reportedly
been paying Crow Shooting Supply since 2008 (Brownell has owned the company
since 2011).34
• In 2016, the NRA hired Josh Powell as chief of staff, an executive position that
paid him total compensation in 2017 of $779,066.35 Mr. Powell was previously
business partners with Pete Brownell,36 who was in line to become the NRA
president. After investigative reporting in 2018 revealed Powell’s history of financial
mismanagement in the jobs he held before joining the NRA37 and that the NRA was
reimbursing him for over $100,000 per year in personal expenses,38 Mr. Powell
was reportedly reassigned within the NRA.39 According to reporting from The New
Yorker, Mr. Powell’s wife worked on the NRA’s account as an outside consultant at
McKenna & Associates.40
• Reports indicate that current NRA president Oliver North has a lucrative contract
with the NRA’s longtime media consultants Ackerman McQueen.41 In addition,
public reporting indicates that NRATV personalities Dana Loesch and Colion Noir
also have contracts with Ackerman as well.42
• Revelations in The New Yorker that NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre
has an arrangement that “provides for consulting services and personal
appearances upon the end of his employment, at an annual rate that starts
at his currently contracted final base salary and is later reduced” —effectively
serving as a salary for life.43
The New York Times reported that the NRA has 41 employees, contractors, vendors
or consultants that have family relationships to others connected to the NRA.
Due to these and other financial arrangements that would seem at odds
with the NRA's status as a non-profit charitable organization, Everytown
for Gun Safety filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service calling for
an investigation of the NRA.
You can read Everytown’s IRS complaint at every.tw/tax-exempt-complaint.
6 THE NRA IN CRISIS everytownresearch.org/nra-in-crisisINVESTIGATIONS OF NRA
BUSINESS/CAMPAIGN PRACTICES
In addition to the Russia-related inquiries, the NRA is facing scrutiny over business
practices and campaign spending during both the 2016 presidential campaign and
multiple congressional campaigns:
NRA’s “Carry Guard” Insurance Program: The NRA’s “Carry Guard” Insurance
program, which promised to cover an individual’s legal expenses if they shoot
someone and claim self-defense, was unveiled at the 2016 NRA convention
with much fanfare but has subsequently become a regulatory debacle.
Public reporting indicates that the NRA has been entangled in various state
At least five regulatory inquiries about the legality of the Carry Guard insurance product that
complaints it promotes.
have been The inquiries are reportedly focused on whether the Carry Guard product, which
filed with provides gun owner-liability insurance, violates state insurance laws by insuring
the Federal criminal conduct; and whether entities promoting Carry Guard improperly solicited
Election insurance sales under state law.44
Commission The NRA’s attorney was quoted saying that regulatory oversight in New York State
against the regarding the Carry Guard product “threatens the financial growth and overall
NRA alleging trajectory of the organization”;45
improper Some of the NRA’s partners in this venture, Lockton Affinity, Illinois Union, and
coordination Lloyd’s of London have already settled with regulators in New York State and/or
of campaign Washington State for more than an aggregate of $13 million.46
spending. NRA’s Campaign Spending: At least five complaints have been filed with the
Federal Election Commission against the NRA alleging improper coordination of
campaign spending.47 These complaints focus on spending in the 2016 Presidential
election and various U.S. Senate races in 2014,48 2016, and 2018, and build upon
investigative journalism that revealed media buyers for the NRA’s purportedly
independent expenditures were simultaneously doing similar work on behalf
of the campaigns they were supporting, including President Trump’s campaign.49
Federal election law bars campaigns and independent groups from coordinating
their spending.
In February 2019, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Rep. Jamie Raskin announced
they are seeking information from various media companies associated with the
NRA’s advertising in these races to determine if any illegalities occurred.50
7 THE NRA IN CRISIS everytownresearch.org/nra-in-crisisINVESTIGATIONS OF NRA
TIES TO RUSSIA
Since early 2017, the NRA has been plagued by questions about its relationships
with figures close to the Russian government.51 Indeed, dating back nearly a
decade, Russian politician and central banker Alexander Torshin and Russian gun
rights activist Maria Butina cultivated relationships within the highest ranks of the
NRA, including trips to consecutive NRA conventions and working directly with NRA
officials to coordinate an NRA delegation trip to Russia in 2015.52
The NRA’s explanations of its Russian connections have been publicly
contradicted on multiple occasions. For one, the NRA’s answers on questions
of Russian donations to the organization have been inconsistent, although the NRA
ultimately admitted “two dozen additional contributions from Russian donors.” 53
What’s more, while the NRA has claimed that executive vice president Wayne
LaPierre disapproved of the NRA’s 2015 delegation trip to Russia, internal emails
from NRA officials seem to contradict that stance. Specifically, emails reportedly
have shown that NRA staff helped plan the trip54 (while Mother Jones reports “[a]
source close to [former NRA president Pete] Brownell maintains that at the time
of the Moscow trip, Brownell did not hear that LaPierre opposed the visit. ‘It was
presented as an NRA-related trip,’ the source said, adding that ‘NRA staff was
involved in the planning’ of the travel.’”).55
These and other unanswered questions have been a focus of multiple ongoing
In December 2018, investigations, including in the House of Representatives and Senate.56
Maria Butina Criminal investigations
pled guilty to In January 2018, McClatchy reported that the Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s
conspiracy office was investigating whether then-deputy governor of Russia’s central bank
Alexander Torshin funneled money to the NRA to help the Trump campaign.57
to act as an A year later, it was reported that the Special Counsel’s office had been asking
unregistered about the NRA’s relationship with the Trump campaign as recently as late-2018.58
foreign agent It is unclear whether this inquiry has been referred to the U.S. Attorney’s Office
for Russia. for additional investigation.
In December 2018, Maria Butina pled guilty to conspiracy to act as an unregistered
foreign agent for Russia. Her plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for
the District of Columbia details how she cultivated her relationship with a “Gun
Rights Organization,” widely reported to be the NRA, as a key component of her
campaign to influence American politics.59 Butina is slated to be sentenced on April
26, 2019,60 the opening day of the NRA’s 2019 annual convention.
In September 2018, Paul Erickson (Butina’s longtime boyfriend and
a conservative activist linked to the NRA) reportedly received a target letter
from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia informing him that
prosecutors were considering indicting him for acting an unregistered foreign
agent.61 Erickson has since been indicted in an unrelated fraud case by the U.S.
Attorney in South Dakota.62
8 THE NRA IN CRISIS everytownresearch.org/nra-in-crisisCongressional investigations
Starting in February 2018, Senator Ron Wyden, the ranking member on the
Senate Finance Committee, sent a series of letters to the NRA regarding the
organization’s ties to Russia.63 After publicly disclosing seemingly contradictory
information, the NRA admitted to accepting more than two dozen contributions
totaling $2,512.51 from people associated with Russian addresses.64 The NRA
ended the months-long correspondence declaring it would “respectfully decline
to engage” further.65
In November 2018, the Daily Beast reported that the Senate Intelligence
Committee requested documents from the NRA regarding its connections to
Russia, including its 2015 delegation trip to Moscow.66 A witness reportedly
interviewed by the committee told NBC News that he was asked questions about
the NRA’s relationship with Russia as recently as January 2019.67
In January 2019, the House Oversight Committee reportedly requested
documents from the NRA and the White House regarding National Security Advisor
John Bolton, who previously served as chair of the NRA’s International Affairs
Subcommittee.68 The House committee renewed 69 an August 2018 request 70 to
the White House for documents to determine whether Bolton’s appearance in a
video for Butina’s gun rights group (and any other work he may have done with her)
was disclosed as part of his vetting for a security clearance. The committee also
reportedly asked the NRA for more information about Bolton’s foreign contacts
and the NRA International Affairs Subcommittee.71
In February 2019, House Reps. Ted Lieu and Kathleen Rice sent a letter to NRA
executive vice president Wayne LaPierre requesting information regarding the
NRA’s relationship with Torshin and Butina and the 2015 delegation trip to Russia.72
NRA 2015 delegation trip to Russia Facebook/ Alexander Kudryashov
9 everytownresearch.org/nra-in-crisisCOMPANIES SEVER TIES
WITH THE NRA AND TAKE ACTION
ON GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION
In the face of the NRA’s growing toxicity, businesses nationwide have severed
ties with the NRA and many companies like Citigroup,73 Levi Strauss & Co,74 and
Dick’s Sporting Goods,75 among others, announced they would take action on gun
violence prevention.
In 2018, in the face of public pressure, more than two dozen companies cut
business ties with the NRA, including: First National Bank of Omaha; FedEx;76 Delta
Air Lines; United Airlines; Allied Van Lines; North American Van Lines; Avis Budget
Group; Hertz; Alamo Car Rental; Enterprise Car Rental; National Car Rental; Starkey
Hearing Technologies; MetLife Insurance; Chubb Insurance; TrueCar; SimpliSafe;
Symantec;77 Norton; Securian; Lockton Affinity; Paramount Rx; Wild Apricot;
LifeLock; Teladoc;78 Wyndham Hotels.79
Dozens Of Companies Cut Ties
With The NRA
National Public Radio
10 THE NRA IN CRISIS everytownresearch.org/nra-in-crisisWEAKENING FINANCIALS AT THE NRA
At a time when the NRA continues to generously compensate its senior executives,
any number of proof points from recent financial reporting indicate that the NRA’s
financial health is in decline, including:
• Contributions to the NRA are down more than $26 million from 2016 to 2017 (the
most recent data reported), or 21 percent.80
• Membership dues paid to the NRA over the same period are down more than $35
million, or 22 percent.81
• The NRA has run deficits of $14.8 million and $31.8 million, respectively, in the last
two reporting cycles (2016 – 2017).82
Contributions
to the NRA are • The NRA’s 501(c)(3) sister charitable organization – the NRA Foundation –
transferred $19.2 million and $18.8 million in tax deductible donations to
down more than
the NRA (a 501(c)(4) organization that engages in political activity) in 201683
$26 million from and 2017,84 respectively.
2016 to 2017.
• On top of that, the NRA’s most recent public disclosures, for 2017, revealed the
NRA Foundation gave a $5 million loan to the NRA.85
• The NRA reportedly laid off several employees, including some associated with
its NRATV product.86 The New York Times reported that some NRA board members are
openly questioning the utility of NRATV to the organization.87 It has also
been reported that the NRA even discontinued office perks like free coffee
to save money.88
• The New Yorker reported that a financial “audit from 2017 revealed that
[the NRA] had nearly reached the limit of a twenty-five-million-dollar line
of credit” and the NRA was forced to “borrow almost four million from its officers’
life insurance policies….” 89
Former NRA fundraiser Aaron Davis went on record criticizing the NRA in fairly
stark terms, including describing lavish dinners “where wine was pouring freely,
and [he was] going to dinners with other NRA executives where the bill would be
a thousand dollars.” Davis added “I just thought, if the typical NRA member
NRA knew that this is how the organization really works, then there’s just no way
Foundation they would give money.”90
501(c)(3)
The NRA’s most recent public disclosures,
for 2017, revealed the NRA Foundation gave
a $5 million loan to the NRA and in the past
two reporting cycles the Foundation has
sent $38 million to the NRA.
11 THE NRA IN CRISIS everytownresearch.org/nra-in-crisisTHE NRA’S DISAPPEARING
ACT DURING THE 2018
MIDTERM ELECTIONS
The NRA’s crises aren’t confined to investigations; as the organization becomes
increasingly fringe and toxic, its political influence and engagement has fallen
dramatically. After years of being perceived as a political powerhouse, the NRA was
unable to successfully pass its top legislative priorities, concealed carry reciprocity
and deregulating silencers, during the first two years of the Trump presidency,
while unsuccessfully opposing the ATF’s rule banning bumpstocks.91 Then it pulled
a disappearing act leading up to the 2018 midterm elections, in which its
Republican allies lost control of the House of Representatives.
• The NRA was reportedly outspent by gun violence prevention groups during the
2018 midterm elections, during which its allies lost control of the U.S. House
of Representatives.92
• In 2016, the NRA spent a record amount — nearly $55 million — on federal
elections, including more than $30 million to elect President Donald Trump.93
According to one news report, its spending may have exceeded $70 million.94
• Just two years later, however, in the 2018 election, the NRA was reportedly
outspent by its political opponents.95 Its spending during the most recent
midterm election was reportedly 64 percent lower than in the previous midterm
election and a fraction of what it spent in 2016.96
• In advance of the 2018 midterms, the NRA took down its database of candidate
grades. According to the Washington Post, one NRA employee, “offered a possible
rationale. ‘I think our enemies were using that,’ he said.” 97
• Members of Congress returned or donated away NRA contributions before
the midterms.98
The NRA was reportedly outspent by gun violence prevention
groups during the 2018 midterm elections.
12 THE NRA IN CRISIS everytownresearch.org/nra-in-crisis1. Todd C, Murray M, Dann C. Trump, master of the political insult, declines to 20. National Rifle Association. 2016 IRS Form 990, Schedule J.
chide Putin. NBC News, March 21, 2018. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/ September 18, 2017. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/
first-read/trump-master-political-insult-declines-chide-putin-n858621. organizations/530116130/201722619349300507/IRS990ScheduleJ.
2. Finn P, Horwitz, S. Ackerman McQueen PR Firm Has Been Behind NRA’s 21. National Rifle Association. 2017 IRS Form 990, Schedule J. November 5, 2018.
Provocative Ads for Decades. Washington Post, February 13, 2013. https:// https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5300476-NRA-2017-990.html.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/ackerman-mcqueen-
22. Spies M, Cook J. NRA Pays Lavish Executive Perks Even as It Cuts Costs. The
pr-firm-has-been-behind-nras-provocative-ads-for-decades/2013/02/13/
Trace, November 28, 2018. https://www.thetrace.org/2018/11/nra-josh-
fedb70b4-7155-11e2-ac36-3d8d9dcaa2e2_story.html.
powell-housing-allowance/.
3. NRA News. Ackerman McQueen. Accessed on April 16, 2019. https://www.
23. Spies M. Secrecy, Self-Dealing, and Greed at the NRA. The New Yorker, April 17,
am.com/projects/nra-news-project/.
2019. https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/secrecy-self-dealing-and-
4. NRA v. Ackerman McQueen. Civil Complaint, filed April 15, 2019, paras. 9 and greed-at-the-nra.
13. https://www.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/NRAlawsuit041519.
24. Hakim, D. Incendiary N.R.A. Videos Find New Critics: N.R.A. Leaders. New York
pdf.
Times, March 11, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/11/us/nra-video-
5. Ibid. streaming-nratv.html.
6. Spies M. Secrecy, Self-Dealing, and Greed at the NRA. The New Yorker, April 17, 25. Spies, M, Cook J. NRA Pays Lavish Executive Perks Even as It Cuts Costs.
2019. https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/secrecy-self-dealing-and- The Trace, November 28, 2018.
greed-at-the-nra.
26. National Rifle Association. 2017 Form 990, Section A, Part VII.
7. National Rifle Association. 2017 IRS Form 990. November 5, 2018. https:// November 5, 2018. https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5300476-
www.documentcloud.org/documents/5300476-NRA-2017-990.html; National NRA-2017-990.html.
Rifle Association. 2016 IRS Form 990. September 18, 2017. https://projects.
27. Hakim, D. Incendiary N.R.A. Videos Find New Critics: N.R.A. Leaders. New York
propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/530116130/201722619349300507/
Times, March 11, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/11/us/nra-video-
IRS990.; National Rifle Association. 2015 IRS Form 990. November 10, 2016.
streaming-nratv.html.
https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/530116130/2017_02_
EO%2F53-0116130_990O_201512; National Rifle Association. 2014 IRS 28. National Rifle Association. 2016 IRS Form 990, Schedule G, Part I.
Form 990. September 18, 2015. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/ September 18, 2017. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/
organizations/530116130/201532599349300503/IRS990; National Rifle organizations/530116130/201722619349300507/IRS990ScheduleG
Association. 2013 IRS Form 990. November 5, 2014. https://projects.
29. National Rifle Association. 2017 IRS Form 990, Schedule G, Part I.
propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/530116130/2014_11_EO%2F53-
November 5, 2018. https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5300476-
0116130_990O_201312.; National Rifle Association. 2012 IRS Form
NRA-2017-990.html.
990. September 16, 2013. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/
display_990/530116130/2013_12_EO%2F53-0116130_990O_201212. 30. Steven E. Nelson Sportsman of the Year. Mzuri Wildlife Foundation, Accessed
on April 19, 2019. https://mzuri.org/wayne-sheets/.
8. Maremont M. NRA Files Suit Against Ad Agency in Rift with Key Partner. Wall
Street Journal, April 15, 2019. https://www.wsj.com/articles/nra-files-suit- 31. Maremont M. “NRA Awarded Contracts to Firms with Ties to Top Officials”,
against-ad-agency-in-rift-with-key-partner-11555320601. Wall Street Journal, November 30, 2018. https://www.wsj.com/articles/nra-
awarded-contracts-to-firms-with-ties-to-top-officials-1543590697.
9. Ibid.
32. Spies M. Secrecy, Self-Dealing, and Greed at the NRA. The New Yorker, April 17,
10. Metzer, S. OKC Ad Agency Ackerman McQueen Sued by the NRA. The
2019. https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/secrecy-self-dealing-and-
Journal Record (Oklahoma City), April 15, 2019. https://journalrecord.
greed-at-the-nra.
com/2019/04/15/okc-ad-agency-ackerman-mcqueen-sued-by-nra/.
33. NRA Foundation, 2017 IRS Form 990, Part IV, Schedule L,
11. Spies M. Secrecy, Self-Dealing, and Greed at the NRA. The New Yorker, April 17,
November 5, 2018. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/
2019. https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/secrecy-self-dealing-and-
organizations/521710886/201833129349300408/IRS990ScheduleL.
greed-at-the-nra.
34. Maremont M. “NRA Awarded Contracts to Firms with Ties to Top Officials”,
12. Hakim, D. Incendiary NRA Videos Find New Critics: NRA Leaders. New York
Wall Street Journal, November 30, 2018. https://www.wsj.com/articles/nra-
Times, Mar 11, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/11/us/nra-video-
awarded-contracts-to-firms-with-ties-to-top-officials-1543590697.
streaming-nratv.html.
35. National Rifle Association, 2017 IRS Form 990, Section A, Part VII. November 5,
13. Spies M. Secrecy, Self-Dealing, and Greed at the NRA. The New Yorker, April 17,
2018. https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5300476-NRA-2017-990.
2019. https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/secrecy-self-dealing-and-
html.
greed-at-the-nra.
36. Spies, M, Cook J. “A Top NRA Executive’s Trail of Business Flops and Unpaid
14. Maremont M. NRA Files Suit Against Ad Agency in Rift with Key Partner.Wall
Debt”, The Trace, October 1, 2018. https://www.thetrace.org/2018/10/nra-
Street Journal, April 15, 2019. https://www.wsj.com/articles/nra-files-suit-
josh-powell/.
against-ad-agency-in-rift-with-key-partner-11555320601; NRA v. Ackerman
McQueen. Civil Complaint, filed April 15, 2019, paras. 24-28. https://www.wsj. 37. Ibid.
com/public/resources/documents/NRAlawsuit041519.pdf.
38. Spies, M, Cook J. NRA Pays Lavish Executive Perks Even as It Cuts Costs.
15. Hakim, D. Incendiary N.R.A. Videos Find New Critics: N.R.A. Leaders. New York The Trace, November 28, 2018. https://www.thetrace.org/2018/11/nra-josh-
Times, March 11, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/11/us/nra-video- powell-housing-allowance/.
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39. Spies M. “NRA Sidelines Executive After Revelations of Insider Deals and
16. Melas, C. NRA TV depicts 'Thomas & Friends' characters in KKK hoods, CNN, Lavish Expenses”, The Trace, December 3, 2018. https://www.thetrace.org/
September 14, 2018. https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/13/entertainment/ rounds/nra-josh-powell-sidelined/.
thomas-the-tank-engine-nra-kkk-trnd/index.html.
40. Spies M. Secrecy, Self-Dealing, and Greed at the NRA. The New Yorker, April 17,
17. NRA v. Ackerman McQueen. Civil Complaint, filed April 15, 2019, footnote 2. 2019. https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/secrecy-self-dealing-and-
https://www.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/NRAlawsuit041519.pdf. greed-at-the-nra.
18. Hakim, D. NRA Sues Contractor Behind NRATV. New York Times, April 15, 2019. 41. Hakim, D. Incendiary NRA Videos Find New Critics: NRA Leaders. New York
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19. National Rifle Association. 2017 IRS Form 990, Schedule O.
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13 THE NRA IN CRISIS everytownresearch.org/nra-in-crisis42. Spies M. Secrecy, Self-Dealing, and Greed at the NRA. The New Yorker, April 17, 56. Nass D. A Guide to Every Known Investigation of the NRA. The Trace, February
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43. Ibid. 57. Stone P, Gordon G. FBI investigating whether Russian money went to NRA to
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due-financial-1057187; Kohrman M, NRA’s Carry Guard Insurance Violates CNN, January 22, 2019. https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/22/politics/mueller-
New York Law; Broker Agrees to $7 Million Fine. The Trace, May 2, 2018. nunberg-trump-campaign-nra/index.html.
https://www.thetrace.org/rounds/nra-carry-guard-insurance-violates-new-
59. United States v. Maria Butina, Plea Agreement, US Department of Justice,
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45. Jacey Fortin, “NRA Suit Claims Cuomo’s ‘Blacklisting’ Has Cost It Millions US-v-Butina-Plea-Agreement-and-SOF-EXECUTED.html#document/p2.
of Dollars,” New York Times, August 4, 2018. https://www.nytimes.
60. Harris AM. Maria Butina, Unregistered Russian Agent, to Be Sentenced
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46. Blosfield E. “Lloyd’s Underwriters Agree to Settle Charges Related to NRA- articles/2019-03-28/butina-unregistered-russian-agent-to-be-sentenced-on-
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61. Woodruff B, Banco E. Feds Target Butina’s GOP Boyfriend as Foreign Agent.
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62. Johnson C, Ewing P. Paul Erickson, Boyfriend Of Russian Agent Maria
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90. Ibid.
everytownresearch.org/nra-in-crisisYou can also read
