(Reuters) – Retired U.S. Marine Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North will step down as president of the National Rifle Association, North said on Saturday, adding he was being forced out due to his allegations that NRA leaders engaged in financial improprieties.
In a letter to the organization’s annual meeting in Indianapolis read by an NRA board member, North, a conservative commentator best known for his central role in the 1980s Iran-Contra affair, said he had hoped to stand for re-election when his term ends on Monday.
“I am now informed that will not happen,” North said in the letter.
His departure came after NRA Chief Executive Wayne LaPierre accused North of trying to oust him by threatening to release “damaging” information about him, according to a letter from LaPierre to NRA board members that was published by the Wall Street Journal on Friday.
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
NRA officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
North, 75, who was named by the NRA as its president in May 2018, was a pivotal figure in the Iran-Contra affair involving secret sales of arms to Iran by Republican President Ronald Reagan’s administration and the unlawful diversion of the proceeds to Nicaraguan rebels.
When he was appointed, LaPierre hailed him as “a legendary warrior for American freedom, a gifted communicator and skilled leader.”
North, long a hero to some on the political right, was convicted in 1989 of three felonies related to the Iran-Contra affair, but his convictions were overturned on appeal in 1990.
He later became a conservative radio talk show host and frequent commentator on conservative television networks.
On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump addressed the NRA’s annual meeting and vowed to revoke the United States’ status as a signatory of the Arms Trade Treaty.
(Reporting by Barbara Goldberg and Daniel Wallis in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
President Biden confirmed that Dark Brandon is real during a fundraiser with former presidents Bill…
lice officer to talk about how the killing of police officers must stop, after he…
In what should be viewed as a last gasp move to revive his impeachment investigation,…
A Georgia judge has ruled that vice chair of the state Republican Party voted illegally…
After news that former Trump campaign chairman and convicted felon Paul Manafort might rejoin Donald…
President Biden is set to raise more money for his campaign in one night ($25…
This website uses cookies.