Oliver North's Reveals WHY He Was Ousted As NRA President

Prosecutors in the case have accused senior NRA members of exploiting the non-profit organization as their "personal piggy bank," engaging in years of illicit self-dealing and financial misconduct.

North, a figure of national prominence due to his involvement in the Iran-Contra scandal in the 1980s, served as NRA President for less than a year, from 2018 to 2019. He testified that he became alarmed about potential financial irregularities within the NRA after an attorney for the organization was dismissed and replaced by an external law firm, the Brewer firm.

Despite numerous unsuccessful attempts to obtain information on legal expenditures and being repeatedly rebuffed by NRA Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre, North suggested an independent review of the NRA, specifically the Brewer firm. LaPierre, who has been a prominent figure in the gun rights movement for over three decades and is a defendant in the trial, resigned earlier this month, effective January 31.

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North testified that in February 2019, he requested legal invoices from NRA general counsel John Frazer, another defendant in the case. Frazer denied his request, stating that it was at LaPierre's behest. North expressed his intention to bring in a reputable external firm to audit not only the Brewer bills but the entire situation, describing it as an attempt to throw a lifeline.

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January 25, 2024

When asked by Monica Connell, special counsel with New York Attorney General Letitia James' office, about his reaction to LaPierre's personal expenses, North responded, "I was stunned … this was corruption." He added that he was trying to save LaPierre's job, hence his attempts to throw him a lifeline.

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One such lifeline was a letter North sent to LaPierre in February 2019, in which he addressed the legal spending and the Brewer firm's invoices exceeding $100,000 in expenses. LaPierre responded with a cease and desist letter and once again refused to disclose the Brewer bills. North testified that LaPierre told him, "Brewer is the reason why I am not going to spend the rest of my life in an orange jumpsuit."

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In response to a request for comment, the Brewer firm provided CNN with a statement from the NRA's Andrew Arulanandam, stating, "The firm's bills have always been reviewed, vetted and approved at the highest levels of the organization, period." Arulanandam will replace LaPierre as interim CEO and executive vice president, as announced by the NRA this month.

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North testified that his objective as president was to halt the "circular firing squad" that the involved parties were engaged in at the time, advocating for a "ceasefire." He also stated that LaPierre assisted in drafting his employment contract with Ackerman McQueen, the NRA's former advertising firm, assuring him, "I'll take care of it," referring to both North's employment and his nomination as president.

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North suggested that LaPierre did not follow procedure when hiring him, bypassing the NRA's audit committee, which was supposed to oversee hires. North testified that it wasn't just his employment that LaPierre pushed for, but also his nomination for NRA president. "Of course, it should have (been approved), that's the rules," North said. "They retroactively approved my contract."

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When asked by Connell about allegations that he attempted a coup, North denied the claims, stating, "It never happened, all a big-faced lie. This whole thing was concocted along the lines of being a coup participant and spreading nasty rumors about Mr. LaPierre, which is the last thing I’d done."

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In the spring of 2019, North wrote a detailed memorandum titled, "The NRA Faces a Crisis," in which he called for the formation of a crisis committee. "I knew by the time I wrote this … I knew that I was finished," he said, adding that he knew LaPierre wouldn't support his renomination. "This is my last act."

North resigned but remains an NRA member. When asked by Connell if he considered himself a whistleblower, North responded, "I certainly became one."