Three NRA board members resign from organization

Three National Rifle Association (NRA) board members reportedly resigned on Thursday amid recent turmoil at the organization. 

Esther Schneider of Texas, Sean Maloney of Ohio and Timothy Knight of Tennessee resigned after saying that they lost their committee assignments after raising questions about certain spending by CEO Wayne LaPierre, The Washington Post reported.

“While our belief in the NRA’s mission remains as strong today as ever, our confidence in the NRA’s leadership has been shattered,” Schneider, Maloney and Knight wrote to NRA officials, according to the Post. 

They added that they, as part of their duties on the 76-person board, tried to get information but were “rebuffed at every turn.”{mosads}

“We had expected – or at least hoped— that the executive leadership team would recognize the seriousness of these allegations and work with us in a constructive and transparent manner to address our concerns and minimize any further harm to the Association,” they wrote. “Instead, we have been stonewalled, accused of disloyalty, stripped of committee assignments and denied effective counsel necessary to properly discharge our responsibilities as Board members.”

NRA president Carolyn Meadows confirmed the resignations in a statement to The Hill. 

“The NRA accepts these resignations,” she said. “We look forward to working with our new board members in furthering our noble mission of protecting our Second Amendment rights on behalf of our millions of members.” 

In recent months, the NRA has faced internal upheaval and external probes. LaPierre has faced scrutiny over reported spending of NRA money for personal reasons, including a reported $275,000 on clothing in California.

In April , former NRA President Oliver North announced he was leaving the group amid reports of problems between him and LaPierre. Other staffers have also reportedly left the organization.  

Attorney generals for New York and Washington, D.C., have also launched probes into the NRA, as have Senate Democrats.