From Director and (until he was purged) First Vice President Willes Lee’s Facebook page:
“NRA needs to respond to these devastating NYAG experts – forget the court, we’ve lost 1M members. We need #accountability to regain NRA members’ trust as we soon drop under 4M.
Damning (admitted) abuses that we allowed w no accountability. Keeping the same Board members who were here for 15-20 years during this exploitation negates any argument to a Manhattan jury that “we’ve changed”.
If you’ve taken a dime from NRA & can’t document why, leave before you’re embarrassed in court. If you’ve been here 15 years & tolerated (or wink, wink “didn’t know”) then leave before we’re embarrassed in court. Having the crew who was supposed to prevent this now leading #NRA is a travesty. Let’s stop the bleeding.”
“Expert report based on NRA records. We have to explain this in court, how about we explain it to the #NRA members who paid for this and tell why the same people are still in charge?”
“Time last week w several younger NRA staff. Top of mind isn’t Second Amendment. Top of mind is rampant swirling “Texas move” rumors & dismay w not hearing A THING from leadership. Some questions: ‘We moving or not? When? Where? Why? Should I rent my apartment another year? Is this part of the lawsuit? Why don’t they tell us anything? Is everyone moving? Why is it in the news and we’re not told? Do we enroll our daughter in school? Can I work remotely? Will we get enough notice to make plans? Can NRA afford to move? What happens to my benefits? Who knows what is going on? Is this to protect Wayne? Do we get ($) help with our move? Will I be let go? If they (bosses) know, why aren’t they telling us? If I go before my husband’s job lets him go, do I take the children?’
Disgusting that we haven’t told them (nor the #NRA Board of Directors) a thing. This is not good. Y’all can, must, do better … unless this is your intent.”
“Tuesday Third Rail. Said I’d initiate a review of the size of our #NRA Board of Directors on assuming the Presidency (heh, not so fast, Bro). Establish +/-, lay it out to the Board, take it to membership. (Another 3rd rail was a review of our 42+ do-nothing committees.)
We’re the ONLY 2A org w an elected Board. 76 members is a lot, & expensive. Only Board I’ve served which pays travel/lodging/meals w no requirement to raise $ nor, actually, to do anything. 1/4 of the Board doesn’t participate. With the folks y’all send, it is slim pickings to have leadership & expertise for oversight of our $180-$200M (was $330-350M), 4-million-member (was 5.2M) association w myriad activities. Popularity contest (elections) for 8-12 members would be disastrous. Appointing a Board has complications.
When I mentioned this study, the room went silent. Folks looking at their shoes. Board size = third rail. Members are afraid to lose THEIR seat, THEIR committee, THEIR ‘stature’. May be another reason I got cancelled.
What are your #NRA Board size considerations?”
“Always one ignorant fellow who thinks #NRA bosses shouldn’t be accountable to members.
From the expert report in NYAG case.
Significance? There is (supposed to be) additional scrutiny for charges over $100k. Fortunate for leaders trying to skirt rules, many purchases w just a tee-tee under threshold. What a coincidence.
Nope. Can’t make up this stuff.”
“Thank you. NRA supporters will pay attorneys $32-40M for the NYAG trial, on top of $150M+ already spent, for 6-8 weeks in court (per https://nraindanger.wordpress.com/. We’ll use some of their reporting on depositions). Not in NRA budget, tho affords an excuse for a terrible settlement.
But wait. There’s more. Week-long (maybe two) NYC Mock Trial w witnesses & lawyers travel $$, lodging, meals, etc. Then, 60-80 trial witnesses travel, months of NYC $$ hotels/meals/local transport/office space. Heck, prob already rented a Manhattan $$ war room near court for coming months. (pisser: your taxes pay for NYAG to fight us). Whichever side loses — > the appeal.
Buckle up. NRA Board is in the dark but, ugh, again thank you #NRA members.”
“Glimpse of how the three guys running the NRA think. This exchange was so telling.
Sacrifice. Thrust into the NRA leadership w ten-hours’ notice prior to Ollie North’s departure at the 2019 Annual Meeting, I committed to six years as an officer to save NRA. This year, Cotton pushed hard for me to propose the By Laws change suggesting that I wanted him to serve another year (or more) as President. Nope. When TOLD to agree to their chicanery & to keep the REAL reason secret, I declined.
In one surreal exchange, a lawyer chided me “Willes, we all have to sacrifice”. A lawyer. A lifelong lawyer in business to make lots of $$$ for himself (he does) looked at me, a now fulltime volunteer with a long history of defending our nation, and tried the ‘sacrifice’ card.
You can’t make up this stuff. We need to clean up #NRA.”
“Your thoughts? Should people who make money off the NRA be on the NRA Board of Directors/paid staff directing how funds are allocated?
Multiple NRA Board members had (some still) an NRA contract (big $) and, per reports, can’t document why nor show anything NRA received in return. You know about WLP: experts highlighted others, there are more. Even more Board members attempt to direct programs to benefit their/friend’s projects (incl reelection).
Me: No conflicts of interest. Don’t bring your conflict to our volunteer Board of Directors. If you want NRA $ or to be on staff, submit a business proposal or resume. You may pretend as if your self-interest has no bearing on anything else, but you know it does. If those Board/staff still here were to leave it would help regain trust.
Audit Committee chaired by Coy & Cotton was supposed to resolve related party issues .. in advance. Oh no. If #NRA doesn’t come clean and get clean, we’ll never regain trust.”
“Butt hurt? Old member of NRA Board of Directors emailed to order me off FB & called me “a wimp” (really, the 60’s, ‘a wimp’), CCd his old friends for support. (Won’t out him. He can comment below.)
He didn’t claim the facts were inaccurate, or even biased. Didn’t argue that it’s all in the public domain of court, self-owned deposition, or expert documentation. Didn’t refute a single horrendous admission, much less any heinous (apparently accurate) allegation. Didn’t offer to pay our $150M+ (so far) in legal fees.
No. He only melted down w a whiny rant. Didn’t do a thing except …. he’s been on the #NRA Board through these abuses, didn’t do a thing about them, & doesn’t like reading about it. Sensing a trend.
We need a cleaned up NRA or we never regain trust. Click any paragraph, you’ll puke. https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=sOjLeE47PEQ78qkGWeV1Ig==“
“Since the backroom shenanigans at the April Board meeting when #NRA bosses quietly-behind-the-scenes changed By Laws to keep the same leaders who led during the abuses, we’ve lost three more times in court v NYAG. ‘Oh, darn, did we forget to mention this change to our 152-year old By Laws to NRA membership at the Meeting of Members only the day prior?’
NRA refused to inform Board nor NRA members of these court losses (or how to spin another loss). We found out from antigun https://ag.ny.gov/…/court-again-rejects-nras-attempts….
We need a win.”
“NRA interest? Have 8,000+ new FB @WillesleeNRA followers since the April By Laws chicanery. NRA bosses pushed a last minute By Laws change to keep the old folks (who were in charge during the admitted gross abuses) in charge of NRA w a legal plan to beat NYAG by convincing a ‘fair’ Manhattan jury that “we promise to not keep doing what we’ve been doing”.
I just completed four years as NRA Vice President, on every committee incl the litigation team, traveling the nation. As NRA members already cut programs and legislative work to pay $120M+ to lawyers (+ paying WLP lawyers), the same old folks who were here to oversee the many abuses are still on the Board, also some staff. We hope to avoid #accountability for 25 years of transgressions by claiming “we’ve changed”. Wish us luck.
On the outs ever since exposing the shenanigans, I’m still on the NRA Board of Directors & an NRA Foundation Trustee though, go figure, no longer an NRA officer and removed from those committees. New folks can catch up by scrolling back to deceitfulness at the April #NRA Annual Meeting or follow along now best you are able.
If we don’t clean up our mess, ‘someone’ is going to do it for us & it’ll hurt. Destroyed by our own doing? NRA, our membership, is too important to lose.
NRA & NYAG now move to a late-fall court date. We’ll soon make transparent several major events of this summer. Stay tuned, and #alwayscarry.”
“NRA v NYAG report.
Using NRA $ —> incl personal, not NRA business. Also Beverly Hills Hotel.
Members should be pissed. May have lost a few elections, delayed programs, missed legislation. For me, include paying staff only $40k/year in Northern Virginia, cutting benefits, pay reductions (20%!)…. while entitled bosses use #NRA $ to stay at Four Seasons Hotel on personal travel & fly first class to Europe.
Same people still in charge, tough to explain to Manhattan jury.”
NRA in Danger 
accurate – key question is why you did not support the reformers when they put up alternate candidates for EVP or when the objection to the budget for 2023 was overridden by the board.
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A more succinct question is why did Lee vote for Wayne’s reelection to EVP every year?
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On the one hand, I really want to rip Willes for the years he spent being part of the problem, ignoring and covering up for the “leadership” until his own ox was gored, but on the other hand, we finally have a witness who was on the inside and is admitting to the ongoing destruction of our Association.
One thing he’s absolutely right about: There’s no way any judge or jury — particularly an NRA-hating Manhattan jury — is going to accept a claim that the NRA “course corrected” and fixed all of the problems they admit to, while they keep the same people in charge.
This is the most straightforward Lee has been so far in this mess, but he’s still doing a lot of talking in riddles and leaving many dots dangling for others to figure out and connect.
I challenge him to come out with a straight, point-by-point article describing exactly what’s been going on inside the NRA, with no inuendo or doublespeak. AS Joe Friday would say: Just the facts. He has the knowledge, and like he said, NRA members deserve to know.
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Because Lee knows he is culpable and in fact actively participated in it!
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The quote “One is never so dangerous when one has no shame” accurately describes Willis Lee.
Lee’s diatribe is scandalous when Lee only complained after he was removed from office days away from becoming the next NRA President.
Four years ago, during the last secret dinner that Lee always attended, Lee refused to listen to my evidence against Wayne and his cronies. In fact, Lee criticized me for speaking out against Wayne.
Everything Lee has stated is directly applicable to him. He complains about issues with board members being there for “15-20 years,” but what about the issues in the last 10 years when Lee was on the Board and was an NRA officer for four plus years.
I reiterate to Lee and his 8,000 Facebook followers: No judge will allow Lee to ever sit on the new NRA board given his ineptitude in oversight and accountability.
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Maybe Lee will end up testifying for the prosecution. He should never hold any office/position with NRA again.
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The prosecutors do not require Lee’s testimony because Wayne’s several depositions during the federal bankruptcy were devasting against him and the NRA. In addition, you have the testimony of Wayne’s personal travel agent and others’ depositions which was devasting against him.
Furthermore, Lee knows I have more evidence which is incriminating against him and a few I am certain he knows nothing about. Lee will never get prosecutorial immunity unless he comes clean and if he did Brewer, or for that matter, any attorney could easily impeach his testimony to the jury. In other words, Lee is going to do more damage to the prosecution than good.
My biggest regret in our class action lawsuit is that I am not a billionaire! I discussed with the attorney at that time suing all seventy plus board members (minus a handful) but was told that is ordinately expensive to bring eighty lawsuits individually (including Wayne and his cronies).
I knew the directors would all resign like rats fleeing the titanic without director’s liability insurance! I am sure the expense, drain of resources, time, coordination, etc. is why neither the NY nor Washington, DC attorney generals have done likewise.
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This clown was at Camp Atterbury last year during the NRA National Championships which are a shadow of what they once were. I made it a point to avoid him as nothing positive was going to come from any engagement with this charlatan. As a retired 0-5 he evidently failed to attend or pay attention to ethics 101 while a student at West Point or during his career.
If he knew all of these details (along with his peers) and did nothing to rectify them then how could he be trusted to run a lemonade stand. Evidently he believes his sudden change of heart with convince the unwashed that “he is really a great guy” or he is childishly trying to retaliate against those who threw him off the island.
Wish the trial was tomorrow so that the grifters can be removed immediately. Then we will be able to determine if the NRA may be saved.
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“Evidently he believes his sudden change of heart with convince the unwashed that “he is really a great guy” or he is childishly trying to retaliate against those who threw him off the island.”
My money is on retaliation.
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Willis Lee, in the words of my friend Col. Robert K. Brown just one of the flock of “Moral Cripples” running NRA. Willis should get another Facebook account so he has one for each face. I remember what he said to me during one of the many verbal thrashings I endured in NRA Board meetings when Rocky, I and others attempted to have an Examiner appointed in the 1st Bankruptcy . Hypocrite.
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From the lips of yourself and patriot Colonel Brown to “God’s ear!”
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Is there a single point or points in time when the NRA began its journey into self destruction ?
Was it 1991 when LaPierre became EVP ?
How did the Board become so bloated with malfeasant directors ?
And to this day I am getting calls from NRA phone banks asking for money.
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Jeff Knox is an authority on the history of the NRA and the best person to answer your question. However, I have seen irrefutable evidence going back to when Wayne became EVP. If you look (search) in an earlier post by me, I provided a link to an internal NRA report completed in the 1990’s and the existing malfeasance and corruption dates back at least to that time.
Ancillary to your question how did the “Board become so bloated with malfeasant directors” we must elect reformers for the BOD.
People are asking me who will do I support for the BOD and the following are candidate’s petitions that my wife and I have signed:
Hon. Phillip Journey
Roscoe (Rocky) B. Marshall, Jr.
Jeff Know – will sign when he provides his petition
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NRA was a mess when Wayne was elevated to EVP in 1991. There had been infighting and power struggles since the Cincinnati Revolt, with the two major factions both jockeying for position and simultaneously trying to block each other. Harlon Carter, with Neal Knox’s help, were pretty successful at managing those factions, but when Harlon fired Neal in 1982 — right after a very successful and unified Members’ Meeting — things started coming apart at the seems. Many blamed Dad for refusing to go quietly, calling out NRA duplicity and double-speak to the members. When Harlon suddenly resigned in 1985, they had G. Ray Arnett, a Reagan Dept. of Interior guy, waiting in the wings. He seemed to be doing a reasonable job, but a year and a half later, the Board suddenly suspended him without pay over accusations of not spending enough time in the office, spending NRA money on personal hunting trips, etc., and rumors of an inappropriate relationship with a younger NRA staffer. J. Warren Cassidy was moved up from ILA to take over as EVP, and he was a train wreck. Very soft and wishy-washy, more problems with female staffers (resulting in lawsuits and settlements), and seriously declining membership and revenue, so he too was pushed out, bringing LaPierre up from ILA to be the new EVP in ’91. Things were so bad that LaPierre did a major re-branding effort, calling it the “New NRA.” He was in over his head from the get-go, and began relying heavily on advice from Angus McQueen, the principal at Ackerman McQueen, NRA’s PR firm. That same year, Dad and about 10 other “hard-liners” were elected tot he Board. Dad had supported LaPierre’s ascention (with some reservations), and he and his supporters on the Board started turning things around, but LaPierre drifted deeper under the influence of Angus, giving more and more business to Ack-Mac and using cheesy sweepstakes and high-pressure fundraising programs managed by them. By 1996, the Board was concerned about how much money was flowing to Ack-Mac and how much influence the PR company was having over LaPierre and Board elections. A lot of that money was being spent without proper bidding or contracts, and a lot of Directors didn’t trust Ack-Mac, so the Board instructed Wayne to get rid of the PR company. It turned into a major battle with Wayne eventually reporting that Ack-Mac was gone and he’d hired a new PR company called Mercury Group. Then the Board found out that Mercury Group was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ack-Mac, with all of the same people still doing all the same jobs, and still no detailed contract to provide for accountability. A majority of the Board wanted to fire Wayne over the whole mess, but they couldn’t get the 2/3rds majority that required, so he survived. Meanwhile, Ack-Mac and Wayne’s supporters launched a campaign against the Board members who had opposed him, resulting in over a dozen “hard-liners” losing their seats that year. Dad went from the number 3 or 4 vote-getter in his previous election, down to number 23 that year, barely making the cut. At the Members’ Meeting, Charlton Heston was suddenly brought out as a candidate for the 76th Director, based on a claim that he had received some write-in votes. Of course he was elected to the seat, then in the Board meeting, he was nominated to run for the First Vice President chair against Dad. Heston won that chair by 4 votes then left the meeting to fly back to LA and do a radio interview in which he repeatedly declared that civilian ownership of AK-47s was “inappropriate.” He eventually got on the right script and was very good for the NRA, serving as President for an unprecedented 5 terms. Each subsequent year, more of the “hard-line” Directors were replaced with LaPierre supporters, and more business and control was given to Ackerman McQueen. At the same time, Wayne’s salary went from around $250k to $400k to $600k to $800k and climbing. Heston had always flown on private jets and once he was gone, LaPierre continued that practice. His actual pay has been as high as $2.2 million per year, and one year was several millions more, thanks to some sort of pension draw-down. For the past several years he’s been paid around $1.7 million — and is still flying private jets, though I don’t think he’s flying them to the Bahamas for vacations anymore.
I have a new article at FirearmsNews.com covering a lot of this, but the short answer to your question is that the current problems had their genesis shortly after LaPierre took office, and accelerated dramatically after he succeeded in purging the Board of watchdogs like Neal Knox between 1997 and 2000. It’s really ironic that it was Angus McQueen’s own son-in-law, Bill Brewer, who pushed Angus and Ack-Mac out and took over the role of LaPierre’s Rasputin. The past couple of years, Brewer has been pulling down even more money from NRA than Ack-Mac ever did (about $60 million last year), and he’s done it without building things like NRA-TV or massive fundraising programs like Ack-Mac did.
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Like I mentioned Jeff Know is a recognized expert on the NRA.
Years ago, when I started gathering incriminating info from mostly from inside sources for our class action lawsuit it struck me the number of people who stopped to talk to me at the NRA conventions (I no longer attend) and they would tell me stories of their interaction with Neil Knox, and everyone praised his leadership. In fact, most asked me if I ever met him and when I said no, they said it was my loss and they all said he was one of the best leaders the NRA ever had.
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Forgive my critical thinking skills kicking in on this recent posting, but there is absolutely no time frame associated nor contextual association to the facebook tirade presented!
Secondly, I am dismayed at seeing elementary school’s playground disparaging remarks [This individual took one of them as a flat out threat!] being hurled about – for what purpose – bolster the author’s standing out here? What purpose does playground name calling serve in the overall NRA situation?
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I have been following this entire mess for pretty much it’s whole sad time. One thing that strikes me as odd about Mr. Lee’s continued leaks about the inner workings of the NRA is the fact that now that he is on the outside looking in, he sings like a bird. That in my mind doesn’t lend itself to give him complete confidence that everything he says is the truth.
In fact, typically when I have seen this sort of behavior from someone that has an ax to grind, they are willing to say things that either are lies, or that have no proof behind them. Or as is the case here, most of Mr. Lee’s accusations are of things that we already know, or if they are information from the inside, are at best only hints, with no real facts to back them up.
For example, if someone came up to him and said something, why not give more details? Like, name names, tell when and under what circumstances it occurred. This is the sort of thing that would cause me to believe what he is saying a bit more. The way it is, while he may be totally truthful, he starts out 2 steps behind, due to his years of acquiescence to the very things that he is now saying that he is exposing now.
We all know things are a huge mess, and the very existence of the NRA is at stake. I continue to pay my dues, in order to remain a member. But I don’t give any extra money, since I don’t want any of it to go to the WLP defense fund. If it ends up harming the NRA I blame it on the leadership and the board. One can only watch and hold out hope. And be prepared for what happens if the NRA exists after this is all over.
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You mentioned several excellent points that I would like to touch on.
1. You are much more astute than Lee’s 8,000 FB followers.
2. Regarding “Mr. Lee’s accusations are of things that we already know, or if they are information from the inside, are at best only hints, with no real facts to back them up,” Lee will never provide the details on any number of the numerous incriminations that he was an active participant without the prosecutor providing him immunity and I cannot see that happening. Lee is trying to bait the attorney generals for immunity, and they do not need him for an NRA conviction. If anything, they might go after him when the NRA is found guilty since he was an officer and one of only three comprising the SLC.
3. At the right time one of the parties will ask the judge, whether it is the NY judge, TN federal judge or a federal bankruptcy judge to put the NRA into receivership. The chances of the NRA avoiding receivership is miniscule because the judge will be informed since the NRA’s malfeasance and corruption has come into the public domain in the last for years, each year every board member (with the exception of Rocky Marshall, Judge Phil Journey, and Frank Tait – someone please correct me if I am wrong) voted for Wayne to be EVP and the BOD has stubbornly refused to enter into corrective action.
4. Regarding “I continue to pay my dues, in order to remain a member,” please understand that the primary revenue source for the NRA is its membership dues. Furthermore, the NRA biggest expense each year is paying the Brewer law firm. In fact, I believe Rock Marshall had commented on the NRA’s last budget and it is unsustainable continuing to pay the Brewer law firm these astronomical fees. It is only a matter of time that the NRA will end up in federal bankruptcy but this time it won’t be fraudulent reasons. You might want to consider stopping paying your annual membership until the NRA is reformed.
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There are a few board members who abstained in the EVP election 2021 and 2022. If I recall it was 3 in 2021 and 8 in 2022. As I understand it, if they figured out who abstained, they were removed from all committees (or for new members were not seated on any committee) I was not seated on any committee during my tenure on the board.
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The reason that I continue to pay my dues is that I only joined the NRA on the day that Barack Obama was elected. Within a couple of years, after learning of the corruption within the NRA, including their questionable support for anti gun politicians, by giving them an A+ rating when they had voted against gun rights, I left in disgust.
A few years ago, I realized that the NRA is an important part of us keeping our 2nd amendment rights, if only they could get back on the right track. And I figured the best way to help was through the inside. As it now stands, I have one or two years left before I can become a full voting member, and so I will stay current with my dues, if only to try and become able to vote, so I can vote for board members, like the three mentioned, that can do the most good.
I have ideas about how I think the NRA should be run, but I don’t understand the legal workings of charitable organizations, so I have to count on getting some decent leadership on the board to make it happen. So much of it rests on this lawsuit, actually on both suits, from NY and DC. It is sad that in my life up until Obama was elected president, I never saw the threat to our 2nd amendment freedoms, and no need for me to join the NRA. And now that I see the reasons for it, the leadership has done just about everything that they can to kill it. I used to wish that Wayne and company would just leave. Now, after seeing the corruption, including from the depositions in the Texas bankruptcy cases, I want to see jail time and financial restitution for some of those who have done the most to harm the group, including Ms. Meadows, who seemed to see the writing on the wall sooner than most others did, and run. Like Mohammad Ali said, “you can run, but you cannot hide.” It has nothing to do with personalities, and everything to do with actions. Bad actors who harm non profit groups need to be held accountable, and that may include law firms who purposefully run up exorbitant bills, knowing that the cases are a loser.
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Thank you, Mr. Tait, for the correction.
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To quote the perfectly cast Mr. Lee
“ NRA needs to respond to these devastating NYAG experts – forget the court, we’ve lost 1M members. We need #accountability to regain NRA members’ trust as we soon drop under 4M.”
As Mr Lee well knows, or should know, membership (something the NRA has lied about for decades) has been under 4 million for years and is fast approaching 3 million.
This guy was a perfect fit for the chairs and SLC. Hopefully purging him will prove to be a mistake as he was certainly in the room when much of Cottons skullduggery to place. Remains to be seeing if he was cognitively present.
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I can assure you Lee was an active participant and competent to know what he was going was unethical, sometimes against NRA bylaws and perhaps illegal.
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