Last week, a jury found the NRA did not safeguard its charitable fund or those who raised concerns about how they were being spent on former CEO Wayne LaPierre’s lavish personal expenses. This week, we have one of those whistle-blowers on the show to give his view of the verdict as well as the group’s future.
Former NRA board member Judge Phillip Journey was among the eight insiders the jury said didn’t receive protection when he spoke out about the group’s mismanagement. He said the jury came to the correct conclusion. And he argued Judge Joel Cohen should appoint a monitor to make sure corruption is rooted out of the organization for good.
Journey said he was sympathetic toward criticism of New York Attorney General Letitia James’s (D.) political motivations. But he also said he had no choice in testifying at the trial, and the facts of the case were plainly against the NRA’s current and former leadership.
He argued drastic change is necessary for the NRA to survive and return to form. He explained the platform he and three other board candidates are running on in the current NRA election. Journey said he hopes the verdict and LaPierre’s resignation will convince many current board members to join the reform effort, but acknowledged he hasn’t gotten very far to this point and it’s likely to remain an uphill internal fight.
Plus, Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman and I dissect oral arguments in the Supreme Court’s bump stock ban case. We also go through the gun news of the week in our headlines section.
You can listen to the show on your favorite podcasting app or by clicking here. Video of the episode is available on our YouTube channel. Reload Members get access on Sunday, as always. The episode goes public on Monday.
4 Responses
As a Life Member of the NRA, I am still not sure how I am going to complete and submit my Board of Directors’ vote. There are some names mentioned, but I am still not sure how to handle the entire ballot. Any further clarification will be helpful as I do want to have the read leadership setting a new direction for the NRA. I have been duped on past ballots so I do want to avoid it this year. Thank you.
Hey, Stephen. The Reload doesn’t make endorsements in these races. But, if you’re wondering how Phil Journey is asking people to vote, he is advocating for NRA members to only vote for the reform candidates and leave the rest blank.
The list he mentioned on the show includes himself, Rocky Marshall, Dennis Fusaro, Jeff Knox, and Owen “Buz” Mills.
Looking at the makeup of past and present NRA Boards of Directors, many noteworthy celebrities and corporate executives looking for a 2A support badges, have put their names and reputations on the line along side others who are accused of “questionable” actions; have some serious explaining to do. Major changes are needed, however few are visible on the horizon.
Yea, I haven’t heard any news of the board making moves to change things as of now. Maybe there will be movement during the annual meeting in May. But, for now, things are business as usual.