NRA chief Wayne LaPierre faces tough questions in court — "Russia" expense remains a mystery

[Rogue Valley]

NRA chief Wayne LaPierre faces tough questions in court — "Russia" expense remains a mystery

NRA head slapped down by judge for not answering questions — and $60,000 law firm bill for "Russia" unexplained

www.salon.com

4/9/21
National Rifle Association head Wayne LaPierre, on the virtual witness stand during the third day of the group's highly anticipated bankruptcy trial in Texas, was peppered with a harsh line of questioning, including one about a $60,000 invoice marked "Russia." In Wednesday's testimony, the NRA's longtime executive vice president "conceded that he did not inform several senior NRA officials that he would file his bankruptcy petition before he did so, including a board member who would have been his successor," Law & Crime reported. "LaPierre also testified that he did not inform board members about the establishment of a company Sea Girt, LLC, which he formed in Texas for the purpose of filing for bankruptcy." LaPierre was also asked about his use of a yacht owned by Hollywood producer Stanton McKenzie, which LaPierre admitted to using for vacations in the Bahamas, while not making clear in the group's paperwork that the trips could be construed as a conflict of interest. LaPierre was asked if he offered to pay for using the yacht and responded, "I did not," according to Law & Crime. This yacht was the same yacht which in an earlier deposition LaPierre admitted to using as a getaway following mass shootings in the U.S. such as the Sandy Hook massacre in Connecticut in 2012.

Questioning from PR firm Ackerman McQueen's attorney Mike Gruber revealed that a law firm had filed a $60,000 invoice with the NRA, with the accompanying memo line "Russia." Gruber "pressed Frazer on the NRA's position that the group had to file for bankruptcy in Texas because of a weaponized regulatory framework in New York. Gruber noted that the allegations are currently before state and federal judges in New York, whose fairness the NRA has not questioned," Law & Crime noted. The Butina scandal would later lead to a September 2019 U.S. Senate conclusion that the gun rights organization had acted as a "foreign asset" on behalf of the Russian government during the 2016 election campaign. This day of proceedings was characterized by those coving the trial as tense, as LaPierre repeatedly "tried to insert justifications for expenditures which Sheehan elicited in his questions." The trial judge "repeatedly sustained motions to strike answers, and LaPierre's lawyer reminded him that he will have the opportunity to make those remarks at a later time." On Thursday, LaPierre took to the stand again, only to have the judge scold him for not responsively answering questions.

It seems NRA head Wayne LaPierre had a yacht on standby for the purpose of becoming unreachable for comment after mass shootings in the US.

He also cannot explain an expenditure of $60,000 denoted as "Russia". Congress determined that the NRA acted as a Russian asset during Moscow's interference in the US 2016 elections.

 

[Excast]

The best defense against a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun!

Well, unless you are the millionaire head of the gun lobby, in which case the best defense is a mega yacht in the Caribbean.

 

[US&THEM]

The NRA was his personal piggy bank. The NRA and their leaders are all frauds.

 

[bongsaway]

The nra, the defender of all things good, especially the grifting of their base.

 

[swing_voter]

If the NRA fired Wayne and hired someone less sleazy, they'd get more members.



.

 

[Sandy Shanks]

Naw, this is too corny even for Hollywood. The day before the President of the United States issued executive orders to control the sale of guns there is a mass shooting in South Carolina. The day he issued the executive orders, there is a mass shooting in Texas.

Corny, but true.

The Post reports, "At least five people are dead, including two children, in what police in York County, S.C., called a “case of a mass shooting” that involved a former National Football League player as the suspected gunman.

"Four of the victims of the Wednesday shooting came from what authorities described as a “very prominent and very well-known” family in the Rock Hill community: Robert Lesslie, a 70-year-old doctor; his wife, Barbara Lesslie, 69; and two grandchildren, Adah, 9, and Noah, 5. The fifth victim, James Lewis, 38, of Gastonia, N.C., was working at the home at the time of the shooting.

"The York County Sheriff’s Office confirmed in a news release to The Washington Post on Thursday that the suspected gunman was Phillip Adams, a former NFL player who killed himself early Thursday after an hours-long search by police."

CNN reports, "One person was killed and at least four others were wounded in a shooting at an industrial park in Bryan, Texas, on Thursday afternoon, police said.

"One person was later taken into custody in nearby Grimes County after a trooper was shot, Sheriff Donald Sowell told CNN, adding the incident may be connected to the industrial park shooting."

Texas has an open carry law. A person can walk down a street in Bryan carrying an assault rifle. On March 17, 2021, the South Carolina House gave key approval to a bill allowing people to carry an assault rifle on a street in Rock Hill.

All this follows mass murders in Atlanta and Boulder three weeks ago. Both Georgia and Colorado allow persons to carry assault rifles down their city streets.

Go figure.

 

[Lisa]

The NRA was his personal piggy bank. The NRA and their leaders are all frauds.

Shut the NRA down because of their fiscal misconduct and election activities and then we can pass pragmatic gun control laws in the US.