Oliver North Is Subpoenaed by New York in NRA Spending Probe
Oliver North Is Subpoenaed by New York in NRA Spending Probe
(Bloomberg) -- Oliver North, whose questions about spending at the National Rifle Association led to his ouster as its president, has been subpoenaed by New York Attorney General Letitia James, according to people familiar with the matter.
James’s request for information is part of a broader wave of subpoenas her office has sent to current and former NRA directors, one of the people said. It suggests she is taking a sweeping approach in her investigation of the gun-rights organization after previously indicating she was looking into its finances and nonprofit status.
North is expected to testify within a month, the other person said.
James opened the investigation into the New York-chartered nonprofit group in April following press reports of lavish spending by NRA Chief Executive Wayne LaPierre, who has denied wrongdoing.
Representatives of North and James declined requests for comment. The NRA didn’t respond to a request for comment. Subpoenas to NRA board members were previously reported by the New York Times.
Internal divisions in the NRA spilled into public view after letters written by North to senior officers and directors were leaked to the press. North raised questions about spending on personal items and travel related to LaPierre, outside vendors and the group’s outside legal counsel. He said he objected to LaPierre’s receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in clothing, private-jet travel and other benefits.
The subpoenas come as the NRA faces the first test of its clout since the ouster of important leaders, including North and chief lobbyist and longtime power broker Chris Cox, and the consolidation of control by an embattled LaPierre. With back-to-back shootings in Texas and Ohio over the weekend that left more than 30 dead, President Donald Trump is under pressure, even from his own party, to act against gun violence, after vowing to face down the NRA and then retreating.
The NRA now finds itself approaching the 2020 campaign season without the proven lobbying muscle that helped sweep Republicans into the White House and Congress in 2016.
To contact the reporters on this story: David Voreacos in federal court in Newark, New Jersey, at dvoreacos@bloomberg.net;Neil Weinberg in New York at nweinberg2@bloomberg.net;Erik Larson in New York at elarson4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sara Forden at sforden@bloomberg.net, Peter Jeffrey, Jeffrey D Grocott
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