Fifth NRA Board Member Resigns Amid String of Recent Defections

A fifth member of the National Rifle Association's board of directors has resigned, the latest in a string of high-profile defections within the powerful gun rights group in recent weeks. NRA board member Richard Childress, a former NASCAR driver and the owner of a self-titled car racing enterprise, submitted his resignation to the board, John Frazer—the organization's secretary—and NRA President Carolyn Meadows on Monday, according to a copy of the letter obtained by Newsweek. This marks the fifth resignation from the NRA's board of directors since August 1, when three board members quit after they allege they were sidelined for raising questions about apparently lavish spending and mismanagement by top executives. Childress, along with former NRA President Lt. Col. Oliver North, had previously authored a memorandum to the chairman of the NRA's audit committee and Frazer (in his dual capacity as general counsel) expressing how they were "deeply concerned" about the billable hours being racked up by the organization's outside counsel, William A. Brewer III. The letter revealed that Brewer's firm earned $24 million over a 13-month period, payments that Childress and North described as "excessive on their face." Childress, also serving as the NRA'S first vice president, read North's resignation letter aloud at the annual meeting in April. A fourth NRA board member, Julie Golob, announced her departure on August 12. Childress did not refer in his resignation letter to the Brewer dispute or any of the myriad fiscal and governance scandals that have plagued the NRA since April, when The New Yorker documented what would be the first in a long line of allegations of financial misconduct that have racked the organization...MORE