Talking Points Memo reports:
A newly revealed check written by the National Rifle Association appears to upend its account of plans to buy a $6 million Texas safe space for its chief, Wayne LaPierre.
The check – published on Monday by the Wall Street Journal – shows the NRA sending $70,000 to the Delaware-registered WBB Investments LLC for the mansion’s purchase. The payment was reportedly earnest money for a lavish home that would protect LaPierre in the aftermath of the Parkland school shooting.
Worried about being targeted in the aftermath of Parkland, LaPierre reportedly wanted to be provided with a community gated from public outrage, with a golf course, stocked fishing pond, and obscene mishmash of architectural styles to boot.
“Earnest money” is a deposit made to represent a buyer’s good faith to purchase a home. The NRA has claimed that their now-former ad agency was behind the mansion purchase. The agency claims LaPierre himself had tried to move the purchase through their billing.
But wait, there’s more.
ABC News reports:
Julie Golob, a professional sport shooter and a strong public advocate for gun rights, announced Monday she was resigning from the National Rifle Association board before the end of her three-year term.
She is the fourth member in the past two weeks to leave the board of the NRA in a sign of further upheaval within the nation’s most powerful gun rights group.
Golob, a regular on shooting shows who has won multiple competitions and is an advocate for women’s use of firearms, did not state a reason for her departure in a note posted on her website.
The NRA’s lawyer said “not a cent” of the nonprofit’s money was spent on helping executive Wayne LaPierre’s mansion search.
A document we obtained shows that payments were flagged by internal accountants for doing just that. https://t.co/dm5jM1GkL6
— ProPublica (@propublica) August 12, 2019