The 'Americans Getting Shot' Thread

[S Landreth]

• NRA chief Wayne LaPierre talks yachts, private jets in testimony at Manhattan corruption trial

National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre was only sometimes treated to meals cooked by a private chef when staying on an NRA vendor’s yacht, he told a jury on Friday.

“A chef would prepare you meals?” Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Conley asked LaPierre.

“Not all of the time,” LaPierre replied.

LaPierre gave long-awaited testimony at the New York Supreme Court in Manhattan on Friday in state Attorney General Letitia James’ corruption case against him and the NRA. James claims that LaPierre treated the nonprofit like his “personal piggy bank” when he billed it for personal expenses and failed to disclose conflicts and gifts.

Among those gifts were numerous globetrotting vacations with David McKenzie, a longtime vendor and, as LaPierre claimed Friday, a personal friend.

“We met in business, but I consider him a friend,” LaPierre said.

LaPierre admitted that he joined McKenzie for several luxurious trips on his friend’s dime, all while McKenzie’s TV studio was under contract with the NRA to produce “Crime Strike,” a reality show starring LaPierre himself.

Oftentimes, LaPierre said he would stay on McKenzie’s 107-foot yacht, “Illusions,” which featured a five-man crew, a private chef, Jet Skis and other amenities. On other occasions, LaPierre joined McKenzie on his bigger boat, “Grand Illusion.”

LaPierre said McKenzie would cover all of his expenses on these trips.

“That was really generous of the McKenzies, wasn't it?” Conley asked.

“Yes, they were friends,” LaPierre said.

Their travels took them to India, the Bahamas, the Greek Isles and more. But all the gifted trips shared one thing in common — LaPierre never disclosed them ahead of time.

“You didn't disclose these trips to the NRA in advance, correct?” Conley asked.

“Correct,” LaPierre replied.

“You didn’t get board approval for those, correct?” Conely asked.

“Correct,” LaPierre said.

Conley then showed the court one of LaPierre’s financial disclosure forms, which specifically asked if LaPierre received “any gift, gratuity, personal favor, or entertainment” worth more than $300 from “any person or entity that has or is seeking to have a business relationship, or receive funds from, NRA or any NRA entity.”

The exhibit showed that LaPierre checked the box marked “no.”

But the subject of LaPierre’s travels wasn't capped at his yacht trips with McKenzie. The attorney general is also accusing him of billing millions of dollars to the NRA for his own private jet travel, which LaPierre’s lawyer Kent Correll previously claimed was for safety reasons.

Some of those flights were for vacations for LaPierre and his family. On others, LaPierre wasn’t a passenger at all. On Friday, the attorney general showed the court invoices for pricey flights for LaPierre’s inner circle.

One flight from Dallas to Orlando for LaPierre’s niece and her husband cost the NRA nearly $27,000. LaPierre flew his niece’s husband from Las Vegas to Nebraska on a separate trip with a $15,000 price tag. A third invoice showed the NRA was billed nearly $9,000 for another Nebraska flight for LaPierre’s wife.

State lawyer c claimed during the trial’s opening statements that the NRA paid “over a million dollars on flights on which Mr. LaPierre wasn’t even a passenger.”

LaPierre confirmed Friday that he was not a passenger on those flights.

The longtime NRA chief rarely said more than required on Friday, answering most of Conley’s prods with a single word. It’s a far cry from the verbal sparring match that took place in the same courtroom just months ago, when former President Donald Trump took the stand for dramatic testimony in his own civil case against the attorney general.

Earlier this month and just days before the start of this trial, LaPierre resigned from the NRA after serving as its chief since 1991.

He cited “health reasons,” eventually revealing to the court that he suffers from chronic Lyme disease. Because of this, LaPierre’s testimony could last several days. His lawyer asked the judge that LaPierre not spend more than a few hours at a time on the witness stand, due to the fatigue and eye pain that he experiences from his ailment.

The trial is expected to run through mid-February. LaPierre could owe the NRA millions of dollars in damages.

NRA head Wayne LaPierre, testifying at corruption trial, confirms details of lavish lifestyle

[Troy]

Another thread fucked by spamdreth.

It would appear so...

How many mass shootings so far this year and he's failed to report any of them.

We're not interested in the men at the top of the NRA unless, of course, they are killing people.

Yesterday, a guy in his 80's killed his wife and children before killing himself in Granada CA

Man kills wife, adult children in apparent murder-suicide in Granada Hills – NBC Los Angeles

[harrybarracuda]

I would appear so...

How many mass shootings so far this year and he's failed to report any of them.

We're not interested in the men at the top of the NRA unless, of course, they are killing people.

Yesterday, a guy in his 80's killed his wife and children before killing himself in Granada CA

Man kills wife, adult children in apparent murder-suicide in Granada Hills – NBC Los Angeles

Watch, he'll come running to paste any old shit rather than not be last on the thread.

He's a fucking weirdo.

[S Landreth]

again.....

^Got nothing and upset,…………again

[harrybarracuda]

He's my bitch and I live in his head rent free.

[S Landreth]

again......

^Don’t you have me on ignore?

^Got nothing and upset,…………again

[harrybarracuda]

I can type any old shit here and he can't help himself.

[S Landreth]

again......

^Don’t you have me on ignore?

^Got nothing and upset,…………again

[Troy]

Police arrest five men over bodies found in remote Californian desert

Police have arrested five people after several bodies were found shot dead in a remote area of southern California's Mojave Desert.

Six bodies were found after a gunshot victim called 911, sending a police helicopter to the grisly crime scene.

Investigators for the San Bernardino Sherriff's Office said on Monday that the dispute appears to be related to illicit marijuana production.

Four of the six victims have been identified so far, police said.

The bodies - all men - were found on 23 January off a highway near the town of El Mirage, located in San Bernardino County. All six victims died from gunshot wounds, police said.

Four of the victims had also sustained severe burns, Sgt Michael Warrick told reporters on Monday.

The investigation began when 911 emergency operators received a call from one of the victims reporting that he had sustained a gunshot wound.
...
Police arrest five men over bodies found in remote Californian desert - BBC News

[S Landreth]

Day 14

• Wayne LaPierre says he approved helicopter rides so NRA execs could avoid traffic while going to NASCAR races

National Rifle Association leader Wayne LaPierre testified Monday that he authorized thousands of dollars in helicopter rides so that executives of the gun rights group could avoid getting stuck in traffic while traveling to and from NASCAR races.

On his second day on the stand in his civil corruption trial, LaPierre, 74, was shown three invoices for helicopter services, totaling more than $16,000. He confirmed that he approved those flights in 2015 and 2016 and said helicopter trips were a “practice” at the time.

LaPierre, other former and current NRA leaders and the organization itself are fending off a lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James in 2020 that alleges they violated nonprofit laws and redirected millions of dollars of NRA funds for personal use.

The helicopter rides were the attorney general's latest example of that alleged spending.

One of those flights cost $7,590, LaPierre confirmed. Kayne Robinson, who served as the NRA’s president from 2003 to 2005, was the single passenger.

LaPierre testified Friday that he used the NRA’s funds on chartered private jets, family trips, black car services and high-end gifts for friends.

On Monday morning, he was shown and confirmed the validity of multiple invoices, including one for a December 2015 private plane flight from Washington, D.C., to the Bahamas that cost nearly $19,000.

Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Conley also directed LaPierre to clothing purchases made by Ackerman McQueen, the NRA's advertising and public relations firm at the time, totaling more than $274,000.

LaPierre confirmed that he did buy clothing at Zegna, a high-end clothing store in Beverly Hills, California. But he insisted that he did so only at the behest of the officials at Ackerman McQueen, who "hated" how he dressed and encouraged him to buy new clothes that would look good on television.

“Mr. McQueen used to literally beat me up to get wardrobe at this store," LaPierre said. "I did all the television for the NRA."

LaPierre said he spent more than $29,000 at Zegna in March 2014 and another $39,000 there in September 2015.

He has long been the NRA’s public face, and he once hosted a television program called “Crime Strike” that was co-produced by Associated Television. The company is owned by David McKenzie, who regularly hosted LaPierre on his luxury yachts in the Bahamas.

Throughout his testimony Monday morning, LaPierre appeared calm and answered most questions with a “yes” or “no.”

He became more animated — gesticulating with his hands and giving more detailed answers — once the NRA's attorney began questioning him.


__________

We're not interested in the men at the top of the NRA ....

Some might see it a different way………

Cure the disease not the symptom

[harrybarracuda]

^

That will go down as a "mass shooting" and rightly so.

Already the 2nd highest number of mass shootings on record by this time of year.

USA! USA!

[S Landreth]

^pretending again

^Don’t you have me on ignore? ’

[pickel]

^
Since your post didn't contain a shooting, it's pretty obvious he was pointing at Troy's. You're like a little schoolgirl.

[harrybarracuda]

^
Since your post didn't contain a shooting, it's pretty obvious he was pointing at Troy's. You're like a little schoolgirl.

It's protocol that a post can be a reply to the one immediately above it, otherwise ^ or multiple ^'s are used to identify the post which is the subject.

I'll stick my neck out and suggest spamdreth the forum wanker of the year cocked up yet again.

[S Landreth]

You're like a little schoolgirl.

Yes, a petulant school girl posts all over this forum that he has me on ignore but doesn’t miss one post I make.

[S Landreth]

• Longtime NRA head Wayne LaPierre finishes testimony in New York civil trial a day before retiring

Wayne LaPierre, who helmed the National Rifle Association for three decades, wrapped up his testimony at a civil corruption case Tuesday by saying he wasn’t in it for the money.

LaPierre took the stand in the final days of his tenure as head of one of the nation’s most powerful lobbying groups. His testimony is a highlight of New York Attorney General Letitia James’ case alleging the NRA violated laws for nonprofit groups, committed tax fraud and spent millions on personal expenses for its leaders.

For the instances that he used the nonprofit’s funds for personal travel, helicopter rides, clothing, car rides, hair, makeup and meals, LaPierre later said it wasn’t about money but rather to bolster the organization’s reach and importance.

On Tuesday, when his attorney, Kent Correll, asked if he ever asked for a raise, a bonus, or a post-employment contract during his decades at the NRA, LaPierre answered, “No.”

“Were you in it for the money?” Correll asked.

“No, I was in it for the cause and the members,” LaPierre said.

The outgoing CEO stepped down earlier this month, citing his health, and his departure is effective January 31.

“I love the NRA, I love its mission I love the members. I think our members are some of the nicest people of the country. I felt really bad when I was stepping down,” LaPierre testified on Tuesday.

“I tried to fight through it, but all my doctors told me, ‘Wayne, you’re risking a catastrophic medical incident, you have to retire,’” he added.

He wanted to attract hunters to the NRA

LaPierre testified some of the expenses were aimed at expanding the NRA’s reputation from only a Second Amendment organization to making it vital to the hunting community.

He said he visited a hunting rights and wildlife conservation group called Safari Club International, expensing trips to its convention in Texas because the NRA got “a tremendous amount of success” from attending.

There, he met with hunters who eventually became members and later donors.

“I wanted to project the NRA as a hunting organization – we were doing most of the legislation for that already,” he said. “We were able to integrate the NRA into the center of the hunting community.”

LaPierre said he had never gone hunting before, calling himself a “novice.” Tony Makris, an associate at Ackerman McQueen, the NRA’s former advertising firm, became his hunting mentor.

“I had to walk the walk, talk the talk, develop the street credit, if I was going to do the job,” he said. He added that while hunting was interesting to him, he was there for business.

“I would never take a shot without it being on camera,” LaPierre said. “I mean, the purpose was to produce a television show, that’s what I was there for.”

LaPierre testified that the NRA didn’t tend to be seen as a hunting organization and he forged relationships with hunters because he thought the NRA’s mission was already aligned with their interests.

LaPierre said he would not book a safari alone or without business purpose.

He testified for three days and has finished his testimony in the attorney general’s case. However, the defense reserves the right to call him back to the stand in their case.

Using NRA funds to fly his family was wrong, LaPierre testified
NRA attorney Sarah Rodgers outlined improper use of funds at the organization during her cross examination of LaPierre on Monday. It was a reference to LaPierre’s use of private jets to pick up his family, which emerged in testimony on Friday.

“If you sent a plane to pick up your family on a plane using NRA funds, that was wrong?” Rodgers asked.

“Yes,” LaPierre answered.

“This is wrong and that shouldn’t have happened?” she asked. “Yes,” LaPierre said.

“And until 2018 or 2019, you never told the board, correct?” she asked. “Correct,” he said.

Earlier in Monday’s testimony, Jonathan Conley, assistant attorney general, asked LaPierre about helicopter rides that were later billed to the NRA.

Conley reviewed invoices for multiple helicopter trips chartered for LaPierre and other executives, with tabs of about $2,940, $3,295 and $2,000, respectively.

LaPierre agreed with questioning that one trip billed to the NRA showed he chartered a helicopter ride to attend NASCAR races with other executives to avoid traffic.

Conley asked LaPierre about a series of expenses and trips with the owners of Ackerman McQueen, the advertising agency, alleging these expenses by LaPierre and other executives, were paid for by Ackerman McQueen and then billed to the NRA.

He testified the arrangement was an “out of pocket” coordination between the advertising firm and LaPierre and other NRA executives.

Some of the other lavish expenses stemmed from clothing purchases LaPierre said he made for TV appearances. The bills went to Ackerman McQueen.

In March 2016, LaPierre spent $29,000 in a visit to Zegna, the luxury clothing brand. In September 2016, he spent an additional $15,000 there, saying it was a time of personal style changes. Another clothing bill reached $39,000.

“Mr. McQueen used to literally beat me up to go get wardrobe at this store,” LaPierre said. “I did all television for NRA. He hated my clothing, he wanted different varieties, different color, he wanted style changes.”

Conley asked if the out-of-pocket arrangement was an “internal control failure of the NRA.”

“I think it certainly, now, wasn’t appropriate,” LaPierre said. “This is not a practice the NRA would do today.”

He blamed the advertising agency, saying he wanted to comply with New York’s nonprofit laws but “it was Ackerman McQueen that didn’t want their records to be looked at.”

In what LaPierre described as an acrimonious “course correction,” the NRA began to look at invoices related to the Ackerman McQueen firm closely.

“If anything was found where I received an advantage, where I received benefits, I wanted to pay it back in interest, which is what I did,” LaPierre said.

[S Landreth]

• NRA board member answers for scathing Facebook posts chiding group’s leadership

A member of the National Rifle Association’s board was forced to explain a group of blistering Facebook posts attacking the nonprofit’s leadership, which is being accused by the New York Attorney General of siphoning donor funds to finance personal expenses.

Willes Lee, a current board member and past NRA vice president, threw a Manhattan courtroom into a tizzy on Wednesday when he failed to show up on time for his testimony.

NRA lawyers said in court that Lee told them he “will arrive shortly” for hours. He was apparently in Midtown — just blocks away from the New York Supreme Courthouse downtown — when the trial broke for lunch.

“I expect him to be here when we need him,” Judge Joel Cohen said. “Unless he is walking, he should be here by now.”

But Lee’s testimony was worth the wait. When he finally showed up near the end of the day, state lawyers wasted no time peppering him with questions about his recent critiques of NRA leadership. Conveniently for them, Lee had posted those thoughts to one of his Facebook pages in the form of more than a dozen posts from 2023.

In one post, Lee called himself the “echo-buster,” the “devil’s advocate to counter the groupthink echo chamber.”

“Our chamber prefers echoes,” Lee wrote, referring to the NRA board and executives. ”Board members are aware, that’s why they’re silent … they see what happens (even to officers) when you speak.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James accuses NRA leadership — including its longtime CEO Wayne LaPierre — of silencing whistleblowers who questioned errant spending. Those whistleblowers include Christopher Cox, a former top NRA lobbyist who said he was “disgusted” by LaPierre’s personal spending, and Oliver North, a former NRA president who was told to “stop asking questions” about the bills.

Both Cox and North claim they were falsely accused of staging a “coup” against LaPierre and were forced out of the organization for blowing the whistle.

State lawyers on Wednesday continued to display post after post from Lee, chiding NRA executives and their “attack dogs,” who he told to “chill” in one Facebook message. Lee said that he was eventually asked to stop airing his dirty laundry on social media by old board members.

“Butt hurt? Old member of the NRA Board of Directors emailed me to order me off [FaceBook] and called me ‘a wimp.,’” Lee wrote in another post.

Lee was far more reserved in court than he was on Facebook. During his testimony, he was hesitant to critique the NRA at all, despite his willingness to do so frequently online last year.

“I don't know why I was posting those now,” he said Wednesday. “But I must have felt that way.”

He didn’t deny the validity of the content in any of the posts, however.

For the attorney general’s office, Lee’s posts represent a pattern of behavior that’s integral to their overall lawsuit — that LaPierre ruled the NRA with an iron fist and those without unquestioned loyalty to him would be retaliated against.

James claims that LaPierre used the NRA as his “personal piggy bank” when billing the nonprofit for private jet travel, black car service and other personal expenses.

Some of those expenses were broken up into several small invoices in order to avoid raising red flags, another witness testified Wednesday.

Lisa Supernaugh was the assistant to Wilson “Woody” Phillips, the longtime NRA finance chief who is a co-defendant in James’ case. Phillips is accused of covering up LaPierre’s personal spending by skirting oversight and discouraging his subordinates from questioning the bills.

State lawyers showed a brief email chain to the court between Supernaugh and Gayle Stanford, LaPierre’s personal travel agent who arranged some of these pricey flights. Stanford was asking her about how she should bill the NRA for one of LaPierre’s recent trips.

“Would you like separate invoices under $50k for the cars rather than one very large one?” Stanford asked Supernaugh.

“Yes if possible,” Supernaugh replied. “Makes it easier on this side to get processed.”

“Thanks. Expecting them tonight…” Stanford wrote back.

As it turns out, the $50,000 number was intentional. Supernaugh testified Wednesday that the NRA has an internal policy that requires purchases of $50,000 or more to go through more oversight.

Those purchases “must have the written approval of the appropriate NRA division director and one officer,” the policy reads, according to James’ complaint.

Purchases of $50,000 or less require only the written approval of one appropriate NRA division director. In this case, it would be Phillips, Supernaugh testified. Had Stanford lumped the expenses into one big bill, it would require an additional signature from an NRA officer, she said.

During his own testimony, LaPierre claimed that his private flights were necessary for safety reasons. He added that he has since paid off the NRA for what he owes.

Wednesday was LaPierre’s final day as the NRA chief. After more than 30 years at the helm, he announced his resignation earlier this month just days before the start of this trial. He attributed his chronic Lyme disease as the primary reason for his departure from the organization.

[Troy]

^ When are you going to work out that no one, and I mean no one, reads your silly fucking posts in this thread.

So just fuck-off , there's a good chap!

[hallelujah]

^ When are you going to work out that no one, and I mean no one, reads your silly fucking posts.

So just fuck-off , there's a good chap!

Fixed that for you.

[DrWilly]

^ When are you going to work out that no one, and I mean no one, reads your silly fucking posts in this thread.

So just fuck-off , there's a good chap!

He doesn’t read anyone else’s posts, so he will never work that out!

[S Landreth]

• Wayne LaPierre Spends First Day of NRA Retirement on Trial

Gun control advocates say farewell to Wayne LaPierre and his bullet-riddled legacy on his first day as an NRA retiree

Thursday was longtime NRA leader Wayne LaPierre's first day of retirement after 30 years leading the gun-rights group.

He spent the day in the front row of his three-week-long civil corruption trial in New York, where officials allege he violated not-for-profit laws by spending millions of donor dollars on personal expenses and lucrative contracts for cronies. LaPierre has denied the allegations.

Gun control and gun safety advocates say they're not sorry to see LaPierre go. A few took the opportunity to unload, so to speak, to Business Insider on what they described as LaPierre's bullet-riddled legacy.

"His legacy will ultimately be one of corruption, mismanagement, and the untold destruction gun violence has brought to every American community," said Nick Suplina, a senior vice president at Everytown for Gun Safety.

"Years from now, people won't remember the private jets, expensive suits, and yachts," Suplina added. "They'll remember the lives lost and the irreparable damage the NRA, under LaPierre, has done to our country."

Gun safety groups are growing in strength as the NRA's "doom spiral" quickens, Suplina said.

"Wayne LaPierre's legacy is one of lies, deceit, and manipulation leading to a uniquely American epidemic of gun violence," said Kris Brown, who heads the gun group Brady.

"By selling the big lie that more guns make us safer, he has shattered our sense of safety and created a public health crisis that is now the number one killer of our kids," she said.

"Just because Wayne is gone does not mean our fight for a country free from gun violence is over."

An NRA spokesperson and a rep for LaPierre did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

LaPierre announced last month that he would retire on January 31 due to the side effects of chronic Lyme disease.

Low points in LaPierre's career include his response to the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre, gun-safety advocates said. "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," LaPierre had said in a statement responding to the shooting, which he issued amid his retreat to a friend's yacht. It called for armed police officers in every school.

"LaPierre has been the face of the gun lobby's disastrous and extreme agenda for three decades, including its opposition to background checks on all gun sales, advocacy for special protection for bad actors in the gun industry, and a push to create 'a guns everywhere for anyone' society," according to a joint statement from Everytown for Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action, and Students Demand Action.

On Thursday, LaPierre listened to testimony against him in the AG case from NRA board member and former vice president Lt. Col. Willes Lee.

The attorney general's office is expected to rest its case Monday against the NRA, LaPierre, and two other longtime executives at the gun lobby. The defense teams are expected to wrap their cases by mid-February.

__________

"By selling the big lie that more guns make us safer, he has shattered our sense of safety and created a public health crisis that is now the number one killer of our kids," she said.

We're not interested in the men at the top of the NRA unless, of course, they are killing people.

Some might see it a different way………

Cure the disease not the symptom

Some help – The Disease is the NRA the Symptom is in the third column in this link: WHICH SENATORS HAVE BENEFITTED THE MOST FROM NRA MONEY? “Gun Deaths in State (per year)”

[Troy]

Fuck off spammer!!!

[harrybarracuda]

He won't listen. He's mentally ill.

[S Landreth]

Nope. I'm correct

[cyrille]

He won't listen. He's mentally ill.

He's definitely got a screw loose.