Throwing everything at the wall to fight NYAG probe

[struggle4progress]

By Josh Kovensky
August 13, 2019 6:03 pm

... In a little-watched lawsuit against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the NRA has propounded dozens of requests for documents to state regulators with a view towards James’ office.

The requests support a longshot, yet aggressive, allegation from the NRA that it’s been targeted by New York state for political reasons.

The gun group brought the lawsuit last year against Cuomo and other top New York state officials, telling a federal judge that it was the victim of a “political vendetta” organized by Albany.

The “vendetta” in question relates to Carry Guard, an insurance policy that the NRA promoted, which covered gun owners who had killed or maimed someone in self-defense. Critics referred to the program as “murder insurance” and launched a campaign for various states to open investigations into the program ...

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/nra-throwing-everything-at-the-wall-to-fight-new-york-attorney-general-probe

[struggle4progress]

1. Wants a role when Ollie meets state investigators

Aug. 16, 2019 at 1:24 pm
Updated Aug. 16, 2019 at 8:32 pm

By LARRY NEUMEISTER and MICHAEL R. SISAK
The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A National Rifle Association leader-turned-critic is meeting with New York investigators next week, and the NRA wants to be there.a

New York’s attorney general’s office is questioning Oliver North on Tuesday as it probes whether the NRA broke laws governing its nonprofit status.

The powerful gun lobby asked a New York state judge Friday to let it in the meeting, saying it would be “severely prejudiced” if privileged information is divulged.

In court papers, it said it had asked the attorney general’s office to be included in the meeting but was told it would be burdensome and was refused ...

https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/nra-wants-a-role-when-oliver-north-meets-state-investigators/

[struggle4progress]

2. Wall Street Journal: NRA agreed to pay $6.5 million for Wayne LaPierre mansion

By Kate Sullivan, CNN
Updated 3:37 PM ET, Tue August 13, 2019

Washington (CNN)The National Rifle Association previously agreed to pay $6.5 million to buy a mansion for CEO Wayne LaPierre, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

A top NRA executive, then-Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Wilson H. Phillips Jr., signed a document in May 2018 promising the gun lobby would contribute $6.5 million for 99% ownership of a company formed to buy a Dallas mansion for LaPierre, according to a copy of the document reviewed by the Journal. The NRA and its then-outside advertising firm, Ackerman McQueen, told the Journal that the planning to buy the home started in the wake of the Parkland, Florida, mass shooting, when LaPierre had concerns about his safety. The deal ultimately fell through ...

https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/13/politics/nra-6-5-million-wayne-lapierre-mansion/index.html

[struggle4progress]

3. Spent thousands of dollars of donor funds on hair and makeup for CEO's wife

Ashley Reese
Today 10:42am

... news that tens of thousands of dollars worth of donor funds were spent making sure that CEO Wayne LaPierre’s wife got the full beat of her dreams with a traveling glam squad is just another layer .. on the massive shit cake that the right-wing gun lobby has spent years baking ...

https://theslot.jezebel.com/nra-spent-thousands-of-dollars-of-donor-funds-on-hair-a-1837302996

[struggle4progress]

4. In response to latest mass shooting, goes after anti-gun rich people

ADAM PECK
AUG 15, 2019, 12:18 PM

... consider the words of current NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre this week, days after multiple mass shootings in Texas, Ohio, and California left the country, once again, reeling and mourning: “There’s nothing about an insane criminal committing a horrible act that should lead to the government taking guns away from law abiding citizens.”

... LaPierre plowed ahead with the NRA’s mission of resisting any effort to curb gun violence in the country, even after 31 more people were buried with bullet holes in their bodies ...

“It’s an effort to destroy the NRA, to defame our millions of members and tens of millions of supporters — an effort that’s fueled by billionaires and a multi-billion dollar media machine that couldn’t care less about fighting crime,” said the CEO, who demanded the organization buy him a multi-million dollar compound in Texas after the Parkland shooting, supposedly for safety reasons ...

https://thinkprogress.org/in-response-to-the-latest-mass-shooting-the-nra-goes-after-the-real-enemy-anti-gun-rich-people-44dec169d8ed/

[struggle4progress]

5. What's Going On?

By Claire Hansen, Staff Writer
Aug. 15, 2019, at 6:24 p.m.

... The New York Times, in multiple stories, similarly found evidence that the group paid money to those connected to it and also reported that the group relied on funding from its charitable organization, The NRA Foundation – at least $206 million since 2010. That's a big legal no-no if the money from the charity arm was used for the NRA's political aims ...

At its core, it goes back to an incestuous tangle of relationships between the NRA, an ad firm it was involved with for decades called Ackerman McQueen and a bid by the group's high-profile president to oust its entrenched chief executive ...

According to a letter written by LaPierre to the NRA board .. North threatened that the NRA's estranged ad firm, Ackerman McQueen, would release a "damaging" letter to the board if LaPierre refused to resign and drop a lawsuit against the firm.

The letter, according to LaPierre, 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."

By alerting the board to North's threat, LaPierre outmaneuvered him ...

https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/whats-going-on-with-the-nra

[triron]

6. Rachel did a great cover of the NRA fiascos tonite.

[struggle4progress]

7. After 700 deaths over 20 years, Americans finally dislike the NRA

By Annalisa Merelli
August 15, 2019

It took at least 87 mass shootings and 725 fatalities, but for the first time in 19 years, American opinion has finally turned on the National Rifle Association (NRA).

According to a poll by Fox News (pdf, p.5) published yesterday (Aug. 14), 47% of Americans hold an unfavorable view of the NRA, versus 42% who hold a favorable one. That favorability rating is down from 49% in March (the previous iteration of this survey), and is likely a reaction to the latest string of mass shootings, which killed 31 people in Texas and Ohio earlier this month ...

https://qz.com/1686800/after-recent-mass-shootings-nra-approval-rate-falls-to-new-low/

[Turbineguy]

8. In one of the Sherlock Homes stories

(The Illustrious Client) a woman is courted by a murderer. She's completely bamboozled by this guy. Holmes figures out that he needs to find some other small indiscretion to get her attention, which he finally does.

It will probably be the hair dresser costs and not the many unfortunates who were murdered.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

9. why is it so high?

BTW, thanks for gathering and linking all these stories!