Upcoming NRA Bankruptcy Hearing Causes Internal Friction

The NRA faces a bankruptcy hearing on April 5 following efforts to reorganize in Texas from its previous residence in New York.

Ackerman McQueen, the organization’s former advertising agency, has asked a federal judge to reject the bankruptcy petition filed earlier this year. The advertising agency along with New York attorney general Letitia James say the bankruptcy petition is a means to evade tough questions, according to The Washington Post.

Current sources say the NRA owes $3.5 million in taxes to the IRS dating back to 2014. Part of the internal friction in the organization comes from questionable spending, some of which includes items mosquito repellent for the current chief executive Wayne LaPierre’s home for the expressed reason of “security purposes.”

Part of the reason the NRA has chosen to depart from New York to Texas is that the environment has become too toxic. New York Attorney General Letitia James argues that U.S. Bankruptcy judge Harlan Hale should reject the petition as it would mean the NRA would be skirting accountability in New York.

Proponents of the NRA told the judge the petition is a means to protect the organization against the consequences it would face in New York.

Phillip Journey a state judge in Kansas who alleged in a filing that the organization did not consult with its board before filing for bankruptcy; also had this to say, “My goal is to save the NRA, to restore the trust between membership and leadership and restore corporate governance. I want to turn the safety switches back on and then walk away.”