Earlier today we reported that National Rifle Association board member Richard Childress, a former NRA first vice president, had resigned. Now CNN is reporting the departure of two more board members.
Country music singer and NRA board member Craig Morgan has resigned, sources with knowledge of the matter tell CNN, and NASCAR team owner Richard Childress stepped down on Monday. David Lehman, the deputy executive director and general counsel at the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action, also is leaving the organization, the sources tell CNN.
Both Morgan and Childress were prominent public faces for the NRA. Morgan appeared frequently on the group’s now-defunct streaming video service NRATV and even hosted his own program on the network. Lehman was the deputy to then executive director Chris Cox, who resigned in June and was also the NRA’s top lobbyist. Lehman was filling the role of top lobbyist when he departed the organization.
This is another significant loss for the Institute for Legislative Action, the NRA’s lobbying arm. In recent weeks the NRA-ILA has lost its executive director, Chris Cox, a top Cox deputy, Scott Christman, the NRA-ILA’s director of pubic affairs, Jennifer Baker, and now Lehman, the ILA’s deputy executive director and interim head.
And all this heading into election season.
TTAG spoke to David Dell’Aquila whose Grassroots organization is working to bring about the removal of NRA EVP and CEO Wayne LaPierre over the mounting allegations of overspending and financial mismanagement.
Dell’Aquila said . . .
It’s a shame that it’s come to this. Our only interest is in making the NRA stronger and more accountable to its members and core mission of protecting Second Amendment rights. The departure of eight board members in just a few weeks is an indication of the depth of the problems facing the NRA.