Days after the
New Yorker and The Trace jointly released footage of his botched elephant hunt in Botswana, National Rifle Association chief
Wayne LaPierre faced questions about the embarrassing video during the group’s federal bankruptcy trial on Thursday.
A lawyer for the NRA’s former publicity firm Ackerman McQueen cited the footage, widely viewed as a public relations disaster for the gun group, to undermine the CEO’s testimony that he aimed to appeal to “mainstream America.”
“Not to ignore the elephant in the room, but let’s talk about elephants,” attorney
Mike Gruber said.
An outtake of the 2013 Botswana hunting trip for the once-NRA sponsored TV show “Under Wild Skies,” the previously unseen footage shows LaPierre shooting at the elephant once, wounding the creature, and then again three times from point-blank range in the wrong spot. The show’s host delivered the kill shot in LaPierre’s place.
Adam KlasfeldApr 16th, 2021, 11:07 am
The National Rifle Association’s former chief financial officer and treasurer previously told a bankruptcy court that he tried to reform an organization under the thrall of its CEO
Wayne LaPierre, who allegedly instilled an institutional culture of subordinates justifying a disregard for internal control with the words “Wayne said.”
On Friday, that ex-CFO,
Craig Spray, questioned whether the NRA would fold entirely without its current leader.
“Isn’t it fair to say that the NRA could survive without LaPierre at the helm?” Assistant New York Attorney General
Yael Fuchs asked Spray.
“I think it would be very challenging,” Spray replied.
Judge expected to rule whether or not NRA can file for bankruptcy, which could pave the way for move to Texas
The financial future of the National Rifle Association is playing out in a contentious battle in a Texas courtroom.
The country’s largest gun lobbying group is hoping a federal judge will grant it bankruptcy protection, allowing the NRA to reincorporate as a Texas nonprofit.
This follows the group’s announcement in January that it was leaving New York to exit, “a corrupt political and regulatory environment.”
A judge is expected to rule in the case next week.
In an announcement earlier this year, the NRA said it was “in its strongest financial condition in years,” but the restructuring will help to “streamline costs and expenses.”