Extract from ABC News
The longtime head of the National Rifle Association (NRA) says he is resigning, just days before the start of a civil trial over allegations he diverted millions of dollars from the powerful gun rights organisation to pay for personal travel and other lavish perks.
Key points:
- Mr LaPierre, 74, has led the NRA's day-to-day operations since 1991
- He is accused of setting himself up with a $25 million contract with the NRA
- The lawsuit also targets the NRA and others who have served as executives
Wayne LaPierre, the executive vice-president and chief executive officer, said his departure is effective January 31.
The trial in New York Attorney-General Letitia James's lawsuit — against Mr LaPierre, the NRA and others who have served as organisation executives — is scheduled to start on Monday.
Mr LaPierre and ex-NRA president Oliver North are among the witnesses expected to testify.
Mr LaPierre, 74, has led the NRA 's day-to-day operations since 1991, acting as the face and vehement voice of its gun rights agenda.
He once warned of "jack-booted government thugs" seizing guns, called for armed guards in every school after a spate of shootings, and condemned foes backing gun control measures as "opportunists" who "exploit tragedy for gain".
In recent years though, the NRA has been beset by dwindling membership and financial troubles, along with lingering questions about Mr LaPierre's leadership and spending.
One of Mr LaPierre's top lieutenants, Andrew Arulanandam, will assume his roles on an interim basis, the organisation said.
Phillip Journey, a former NRA board member who is set to testify at the upcoming trial in New York, said Mr LaPierre's resignation did not resolve the open questions before the court nor remedy what he sees as persistent rot within the gun lobbying group.
"Honestly, the grifters are a snake with many heads and this is just one," said Mr Journey, a Kansas judge who's running to retake a seat on the NRA's board.
Mr Journey also testified at the NRA's bankruptcy trial in Texas and said he anticipated there is enough evidence for the New York attorney general to prove her case.
"It's a tragic end to a career that had many high points," Mr Journey said of Mr LaPierre stepping down.
"It's one of his own making."
LaPierre accused of accepting safaris and use of yacht
In a statement released by the organisation, Mr LaPierre said he was stepping down "with pride in all that we have accomplished".
"I've been a card-carrying member of this organisation for most of my adult life, and I will never stop supporting the NRA and its fight to defend second amendment freedom," he said.
"My passion for our cause burns as deeply as ever."
Ms James, a Democrat, accuses Mr LaPierre and other executives of illegally diverting tens of millions of dollars from the NRA and spending organisation funds on personal trips, no-show contracts and other questionable expenditures.
Mr LaPierre is accused in the lawsuit of spending millions on private jet flights and personal security and accepting expensive gifts — such as African safaris and use of a 107-foot (32-metre) yacht — from vendors.
He is also accused of setting himself up with a $US17 million ($25 million) contract with the NRA if he were to exit the organisation, spending NRA money on travel consultants, luxury car services, and private jet flights for himself and his family — including more than $US500,000 ($745,000) on eight trips to the Bahamas over a three-year span.
Ms James is seeking to ban Mr LaPierre and the other executives from serving in leadership positions of any not-for-profit or charitable organisation conducting business in New York, which would effectively remove them from any involvement with the NRA.
Some of the NRA's excess spending was kept secret, the lawsuit said, under an arrangement with the organisation's former advertising agency, Ackerman McQueen.
The advertising firm would pick up the tab for expenses for Mr LaPierre and other NRA executives and then send a lump sum bill to the organisation for "out-of-pocket expenses", the lawsuit said.
Mr LaPierre has defended himself, saying in previous testimony that cruising the Bahamas on a yacht was a "security retreat" because he was facing threats after mass shootings.
He conceded not reporting the trips on conflict-of-interest forms, testifying: "It's one of the mistakes I've made."
"He's been the leading political force of the NRA for over 30 years," said Robert Spitzer, a political science professor at the State University of New York-Cortland and author several books on gun politics.
"He has been the leading edge of the very sharp political voice of the organisation."
AP
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