Copyright © 2019 Salon.com, LLC. In 2017, the NRA Foundation’s board approved a $5 million loan request from the NRA, despite awareness of the NRA’s financial problems. But It Has Lost Allies in Congress,” https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/26/us/politics/nra-congress-grade.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-a-hard-charging-lawyer-helped-fuel-a-civil-war-inside-the-nra/2019/09/18/9ae0a01e-a986-11e9-a3a6-ab670962db05_story.htmlLeonnig and Hamburger, “How a Hard-Charging Lawyer Helped Fuel a Civil War.” Oliver North and Richard Childress, letter to NRA Secretary and General Counsel John Frazer and Audit Committee Chairman Charles Cotton, April 18, 2019.Wayne LaPierre, letter to the NRA Board of Directors, April 25, 2019., para. The National Rifle Association did not return a request for comment.While the coronavirus crisis has undoubtedly affected the organization's finances, the tape of LaPierre from January indicates that many of the organization's financial cuts were underway well before the emergence of the public health crisis.And legal costs remain a heavy burden on the organization: In the ongoing litigation between the NRA and Ackerman McQueen, its former public relations firm, a . In fact, the legislature gaveled out a special session to deal with gun violence after only 90 minutes and without considering a single bill.Additional indicators beyond Virginia suggest that the NRA’s influence is waning. The National Rifle Association has laid off dozens of employees, canceled its national convention and scuttled fundraising, membership and shooting events that normally would be key to rallying its base in an In the State Legislature, However, She Voted Against It,” https://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/plus/dunnavant-called-for-bump-stock-ban-in-tv-ad-in/article_bc290bc7-c4ba-5868-a49b-9e1335f1e181.htmlMaggie Haberman, Sheryl Gay Stolberg, and Jonathan Martin, “Trump Weighs Action on Gun Control. “Everybody’s in the same boat as the NRA. In August 2019, news broke that two separate claims of sexual harassment had been leveled at Powell.On February 1, 2020, NRA Secretary John Frazer emailed the NRA board to inform them that Powell was “no longer employed by the NRA.”The NRA’s tenuous financial condition remained in the news over the last year as regulatory filings and investigative reporting continued to raise questions about the financial health and priorities of the organization. As reported by theCourt filings and supporting documents indicate that Wayne LaPierre used NRA funds to pay for nearly half a million dollars in high-end Italian suits and extravagant international travel.Further, court filings indicate that shortly after the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, the NRA contemplated spending $6.5 million to buy LaPierre and his wife a mansion in Dallas through Ackerman McQueen.Facts surrounding the NRA’s use of charter planes have also come to light, including that the NRA “used unorthodox means to arrange [LaPierre’s] travel, including his use of private jets for almost every trip.”Even amid turmoil and financial problems at the NRA, Court filings show that Schropp ran up more than $450,000 on an American Express card that was allegedly billed to and reimbursed by the NRA.While serving as the NRA’s chief financial officer, Phillips simultaneously held the same position at Memberdrive, “a short-lived marketing startup that brokered deals between membership organizations and businesses willing to pay royalties for their endorsements.”In a separate questionable transaction, according to a leaked internal memo written by NRA accountants and presented to the organization’s audit committee, the NRA paid $1.4 million to a company run by a woman with “a long-standing personal relationship” with Phillips.As a result of the sprawling evidence of financial mismanagement, self-dealing, and questionable business practices, New York Attorney General Letitia James is conducting an investigation into whether the NRA violated New York’s charities law, which some experts have even opined could lead to a criminal investigation of Wayne LaPierre.In October 2019, the New York Attorney General sued the NRA after alleging “a pattern of obstruction and interference” in the investigation, including efforts to prevent its former vendor, Ackerman McQueen, from promptly complying with a subpoena from the Attorney General. (“…Chris Cox, who was the N.R.A.’s top lobbyist and heir apparent… .”)Alex Isenstadt, “NRA Meltdown Has Trump Campaign Sweating,” https://www.politico.com/story/2019/07/03/nra-guns-trump-campaign-1395970Betsy Swan, “Wayne LaPierre Promised Job Security, Then Ousted an NRA Top Gun,” https://www.thedailybeast.com/nra-ceo-wayne-lapierre-promised-job-security-then-ousted-an-nra-top-gunhttps://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/wayne-lapierre-nra-purge-861509/Chris Mills Rodrigo, “Three More NRA Officials Reportedly Step Down,” https://thehill.com/homenews/458101-three-more-nra-officials-step-down-amid-spending-controversy-reportMike Spies, “The NRA Used Funds to Settle a Sexual Harassment Claim against a Top Official— and Then He Was Accused Again,” ProPublica, August 28, 2019, https://www.propublica.org/article/nra-wrestled-with-harassment-allegations-against-top-officialAsher Stockler, “Top NRA Official Who Was Accused of Sexual Harassment Is Out,” https://www.newsweek.com/josh-powell-national-rifle-association-1485257National Rifle Association, 2018 Annual Report, 10, March 13, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/context/nra-2018-annual-financial-report/05b36d8c-cd64-4011-a685-e0a26eba9be6/?itid=lk_interstitial_manual_14National Rifle Association, 2018 IRS Form 990, Line 4, Part I, November 14, 2019, https://ag.ehawaii.gov/charity/attachments/irs/530116130/2018/0/T/530116130.pdfCarol Leonnig, Katie Zezima, and Tom Hamburger, “Inside the NRA’s Finances: Deepening Debt, Increased Spending on Legal Fees—and Cuts to Gun Training,” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/inside-the-nras-finances-deepening-debt-increased-spending-on-legal-fees–and-cuts-to-gun-training/2019/06/14/ac9dc488-8e30-11e9-b08e-cfd89bd36d4e_story.htmlNational Rifle Association, 2018 IRS Form 990, Section A, Part VII, November 14, 2019, https://ag.ehawaii.gov/charity/attachments/irs/530116130/2018/0/T/530116130.pdfNational Rifle Association.