New York Attorney General investigates NRA finances in internal group dispute

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"As part of this investigation, the Attorney General issued subpoenas," New York Attorney General spokeswoman Letitia James said in a statement to CNN. "We will not have any other comments yet."

The spokesperson did not confirm the content of the investigation.

However, the Everytown Firearms Safety Group has said it has filed a complaint regarding the NRA's tax exemption with the IRS.

The group said it was motivated by a recent report from The Trace, in collaboration with the New Yorker, claiming that a small group of NRA-affiliated executives, subcontractors, and suppliers "have extracted hundreds of millions of dollars from the budget of the association. " "

"Given the recent credible allegations of excessive billing and personal enrichment by insiders, it is encouraging that the New York Attorney General is reviewing the NRA and we reiterate our call to other federal and federal authorities to They do the same, "said the minister. John Feinblatt, President of Everytown for Gun Safety.

The investigation comes after a dispute between the group's chairman, Oliver North, and chief executive Wayne LaPierre, in which North accused LaPierre of financial misconduct, according to the Wall Street Journal.
James' office sent the NRA a document preservation order on Friday, the newspaper said. NPR was the first to report on the Attorney General's investigation in New York.

The Journal said the New York investigators intended to address allegations of financial misconduct, such as the one that North recently raised in internal disputes.

The Attorney General's New York investigation focuses on "related party transactions between the NRA and members of its board of directors, unauthorized political activities and potentially false or misleading disclosures in regulatory filings" ", a person who is familiar with the language used in the order.

Oliver North: & # 39; Informed & # 39; I will not be renamed president of the NRA

An outside lawyer at the NRA told the newspaper that the organization "will cooperate fully with any investigation into his finances."

"The NRA is ready for this and has full confidence in its accounting practices and its commitment to good governance," said William A. Brewer III to the newspaper.

CNN sought the advice of the NRA.

In a letter sent Thursday to the NRA board, LaPierre claimed that North was pressuring him to quit and try to extort money from him, the newspaper reported Friday.

North sent his own letter to the board of directors, informing him that he was forming a crisis committee to review the NRA's finances, the paper said.

According to the newspaper, he had already accused LaPierre of having invoiced more than $ 200,000 in clothing purchases to a supplier of the NRA.

North has also made other allegations to the board, including excessive travel fees charged to a vendor and charges of sexual harassment against a senior NRA official, the newspaper reported, citing people close to the case.

On Saturday, North informed members, in a letter, that he would not be renamed president of the gun rights group.

The dispute between LaPierre and North was partly caused by the NRA's relationship with its contract advertising agency, Ackerman McQueen Inc., the newspaper said.

Eli Watkins and Kate Sullivan of CNN contributed to this report.

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