The high drama going on within the NRA took another turn Wednesday, with the The New York Times reporting that the organization’s second-in-command, Christopher Cox, has been suspended. Cox allegedly conspired with others to take control of the organization away from CEO Wayne LaPierre. The Times quotes from a new filing in the conspiracy lawsuit that accompanied the news that Cox was out, in which the NRA’s lawyers write that text messages and emails show that “another errant N.R.A. fiduciary, Chris Cox — once thought by some to be a likely successor for Mr. LaPierre — participated.”
This is a part of an ongoing war between the nonprofit organization and the public relations firm Ackerman McQueen, with which the NRA has been in business for years. McQueen pays out the big contracts to NRA public personalities such as Dana Loesch and Iran-Contra criminal Oliver North, and in return Wayne LaPierre charges hundreds of thousands of dollars for nice suits and travel expenses. LaPierre and the NRA have charged that Ackerman McQueen is the one cooking the books and misleading the NRA on accounting—something that has brought up new investigations into the organization’s tax-exempt status. LaPierre also publicly leaked accusations against Oliver North and others of trying to blackmail LaPierre out of the NRA leadership. At least that is what is being alleged by both sides in countersuits.
The Times reports that the NRA says Cox has been put on “administrative leave,” while Cox sent a statement out reading:
The allegations against me are offensive and patently false. For over 24 years I have been a loyal and effective leader in this organization. My efforts have always been focused on serving the members of the National Rifle Association, and I will continue to focus all of my energy on carrying out our core mission of defending the Second Amendment.
Besides Cox, the new filing by the NRA alleges that “another N.R.A. board member, the former Oklahoma congressman Dan Boren,” was also apart of the coup efforts against LaPierre.