NRA ad agency says gun group’s CEO charged $240K for travel expenses

National Rifle Association (NRA) CEO Wayne LaPierre charged the group’s longtime ad agency for nearly a quarter million dollars in expenses related to his travel to Italy, Hungary, the Bahamas and other destinations, the agency told NRA officials in a letter last week.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Ackerman McQueen executives penned a letter to the NRA’s board detailing $240,000 in expenses LaPierre charged to the agency over a period of several years for which he reportedly provided inadequate documentation.

{mosads}NRA officials reportedly reimbursed Ackerman McQueen for the expenses, the Journal reports, though the letter represents a falling-out between the two organizations that multiple news reports have indicated resulted from LaPierre’s excessive spending habits for travel and other purposes. The NRA is now suing the ad agency, claiming that Ackerman McQueen has refused to provide adequate explanation for the billings.

The letter, dated April 22 according to the Journal, has raised new questions within the gun rights group as to whether LaPierre has improperly benefited from various agencies partnered with the NRA.

The “vast majority of travel involved donor outreach, fundraising and stakeholder engagement,” an outside attorney representing the NRA told the Journal. “The board is aware of the allegations and has taken them under review.”

An NRA spokeswoman did not immediately return a request for comment from The Hill regarding the letter. Reports of LaPierre’s travel spending come days after the group’s president, Oliver North, was ousted from the group following conflict with LaPierre over similar spending issues.