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If the NRA were smart, it would turn its internal turmoil into a reality television show for its NRA TV platform. The upheaval at the top of the association is fit for a soap opera.


Saturday, at the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting in Indianapolis, NRA President and key figure in the Iran-Contra affair Oliver North told members that he will not be renominated to his post, according to CNN. The news directly follows a dispute with CEO Wayne LaPierre.

According to the New York Times, North asked for the presidency, usually a ceremonial post, to be a paid post.


Despite hopes that he would be able to hold onto his job with the nation’s largest gun advocacy group, “I am now informed that will not happen,” he said in a video.

When North was elected to lead the NRA last year, LaPierre poke highly of him, calling him “hands down, the absolute best choice to lead our NRA Board.” according to CNN. The relationship quickly soured, according to the Wall Street Journal and evidenced by LaPierre’s recent request for North to step down, accusing North of attempting to extort him.

In a dispute that originated partially from a dispute between the NRA and NRATV contractor Ackerman McQueen inc., North told the board that he would be forming a crisis committee to look at NRA financial records, telling the executive committee that LaPierre had charged more than $200,000 to a clothing vendor.

This week, LaPierre struck back, telling members that North had threatened to have Ackerman McQueen Inc. release a damaging letter to the organization’s board, according to the Journal.


“I believe the purpose of the letter was to humiliate me, discredit our Association, and raise appearances of impropriety that hurt our members and the Second Amendment,” LaPierre wrote. “The letter 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.”

