Three more officials have reportedly stepped down from the National Rifle Association (NRA) amid a spending controversy that continues to roil the gun rights lobbying group.
CNN reported Tuesday that country singer Craig Morgan and NASCAR team owner Richard Childress have both resigned from the gun group’s board. The outlet cited sources with knowledge of the matter.
{mosads}David Lehman, the deputy executive director and general counsel at the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action, is also reportedly on the way out of the organization.
Morgan and Childress both functioned as prominent public faces for the organization, while Lehman filled the roll of top lobbyist since Chris Cox’s resignation in June.
The exact reasons for Morgan and Lehman’s departures were not immediately clear and the two did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment. The Hill has reached out the NRA for comment.
Childress wrote in a letter to NRA executives reported by NPR that “with great regret and a heavy heart” he would resign from the gun group’s board and affiliated entities in order “to fully focus on my businesses.”
“Since proudly agreeing to serve on the NRA Board, I have supported the organization and its important mission to preserve and protect our Constitutional rights. But when, as now, I am no longer able to be fully engaged in any commitment I have made, it becomes time for me to step down. I have reached that point in my ability to continue to serve the NRA,” he wrote.
The departures are the latest in a steady stream of exits since the ouster of ex-President Oliver North amid accusations from longtime CEO Wayne LaPierre that he attempted to extort him over the NRA’s finances.
LaPierre himself has been a focus of scrutiny over his handling of the organization’s finances, most recently in connection to reported NRA discussions about buying him a $6 million home in the Dallas area.
Professional sport shooter Julie Golob announced last week she would not complete her full three-year term on the NRA board of directors.
The exodus from the NRA also comes amid increased pressure on the group which consistently lobbies against gun control in the wake of two mass shootings within a 24 hour period in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, earlier this month that left 31 dead.