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Former NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre is on trial for alleged corruption. Here’s what to know as the civil trial heads to a jury.
Wayne LaPierre, who for decades controlled the National Rifle Association, is on trial, as the former CEO of the powerful gun rights organization is accused of misusing tens of millions of dollars in a lawsuit brought by the New York attorney general’s office.
The 74-year-old announced his resignation as executive vice president and CEO earlier this year, its effective end on Jan. 31 capping off a more than three-decade run at the nonprofit, which he has helmed since 1991.
“I’ve been a card-carrying member of this organization for most of my adult life, and I will never stop supporting the NRA and its fight to defend Second Amendment freedom,” LaPierre said in a statement last month when announcing his resignation. “My passion for our cause burns as deeply as ever.”
Closing arguments Thursday capped off six weeks of testimony in the Manhattan civil trial, including by Oliver North and LaPierre himself, with the jury expected to begin deliberating Friday.
What are Wayne LaPierre and the other defendants accused of?
The civil lawsuit filed in 2020 by New York Attorney General Letitia James accuses LaPierre and three other top officials of diverting “millions of dollars away from the charitable mission of the organization for personal use by senior leadership, awarding contracts to the financial gain of close associates and family, and appearing to dole out lucrative no-show contracts to former employees in order to buy their silence and continued loyalty,” according to a release announcing the suit.
The attorney general’s office alleged LaPierre, along with Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer Wilson “Woody” Phillips, former Chief of Staff and the Executive Director of General Operations Joshua Powell and Corporate Secretary and General Counsel John Frazer failed to follow both state and federal laws, losing more than $64 million of NRA funds in three years.
LaPierre regularly had the NRA pay his personal expenses, “including private jet travel for purely personal reasons; trips to the Bahamas to vacation on a yacht owned by the principal of numerous NRA vendors; use of a travel consultant for costly black car services; gifts for favored friends and vendors; lucrative consulting contracts for ex-employees and board members; and excessive security costs,” according to the complaint, which named the organization itself as a plaintiff in addition to the four officials.
The complaint also alleges NRA officials hid and failed to act on whistleblower complaints, retaliated against board members who raised questions and filed state-required reports with false and misleading information.
What did the attorney general’s office argue in its case?
During the trial, attorneys for the New York attorney general’s office said LaPierre billed the NRA more than $11 million for private jet flights and spent more than $500,000 on eight trips to the Bahamas over a three-year span. LaPierre also allegedly authorized $135 million in NRA contracts for a vendor whose owners showered him with free trips to the Bahamas, Greece, Dubai and India, and gave him access to a 108-foot yacht.
Oliver North, the 80-year-old former president of the NRA and former aide to the National Security Council under President Ronald Reagan during the scandal that became known as the Iran-Contra Affair, claimed during testimony he was forced out of the NRA job after he raised questions about some of the expenses, calling leadership’s reaction a “circular firing squad.”
Assistant Attorney General Monica Connell said in closing arguments that the NRA and its executives were doing everything they could to deny, deflect and soften the blow of the accusations, and allowed LaPierre to step down without consequences while many board members who enabled his actions remain.
State attorneys are seeking to make the individual defendants pay back the organization and to bar them from working for the NRA and in nonprofits in New York state. The suit initially sought to dissolve the NRA, but that effort was blocked by a judge in 2022.
What did Wayne LaPierre and defense attorneys say?
LaPierre’s attorney argued the suit is overtly political, saying in closing arguments the New York attorney general “wanted to decapitate” the organization and claiming it was a witch hunt by a politician who had campaigned against the organization and once called it a “terrorist organization.”
During his multi-day testimony, the Associated Press reported, “LaPierre claimed he hadn’t realized the travel tickets, hotel stays, meals, yacht access and other luxury perks counted as gifts, even as he conceded he wrongly expensed private flights for his family and accepted vacations from vendors doing business with the NRA without disclosing them.”
LaPierre defended flights and gifts, including $274,000 in tailored suits from a contractor he said were necessary for media appearances and private helicopter flights to NASCAR events as he was trying to form relationships with influential people and groups.
“I tried to build a relationship with all these cultural institutions,” LaPierre said, to push against a narrative that the NRA was “some right-wing organization.”
LaPierre’s lawyer P. Kent Correll argued Thursday that LaPierre, whom he called “a visionary” and “a genius,” used those private flights to raise money for the organization, saying LaPierre was concerned for his safety.
“He acted in good faith and with honesty, sincerity and intention,” Correll said. “There’s no evidence that he received any benefits that he didn’t deserve.”
Meanwhile, the NRA’s attorney said the organization was not behind the alleged corruption, and worked to investigate the financial dealings. She told the jury the case was not about the group’s politics, but whether its mismanagement violated the law.
“When the fraud was discovered, it dug in. It turned over the rocks it was told not to overturn,” Sarah Rogers said. “The NRA left no stone unturned.”
“If this was a case about corruption,” Rogers added, “it wasn’t by the NRA.”
Powell settled earlier this month, agreeing to testify, pay the NRA $100,000 and cease working with nonprofits.
Some residents east of Atlanta were evacuated while others were told to shelter in place to avoid contact with a chemical plume after a fire at a chemical plant.
Rockdale County Fire Chief Marian McDaniel told reporters that a sprinkler head malfunctioned around 5 a.m. Sunday at the BioLab plant in Conyers. That caused water to mix with a water-reactive chemical, which produced a plume of chemicals. The chief said she wasn’t sure what chemicals were included.
A small roof fire was initially contained, but reignited Sunday afternoon, Sheriff Eric Levett said in a video posted on Facebook as gray smoke billowed into the sky behind him. He said authorities were trying to get the fire under control and urged people to stay away from the area.
People in the northern part of Rockdale County were ordered to evacuate and others were told to shelter in place with windows and doors closed. Sheriff’s office spokesperson Christine Nesbitt did not know the number of people evacuated.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division were both on site, county Emergency Management Director Sharon Webb said. The agencies are monitoring the air “to give us more of an idea of what the plume consists of.”
McDaniel said crews were working on removing the chemical from the building, away from the water source. Once the product is contained, the situation will be assessed and officials will let residents know whether it is safe to return to their homes, she said.
An evacuation center was opened at Wolverine Gym in Covington.
Washington — Sen. JD Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will face off on Tuesday in the first and only vice presidential debate of the cycle, as the two candidates look to prop up the Republican and Democratic tickets with fewer than 40 days until Election Day.
The debate, hosted by CBS News at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City, will be moderated by “CBS Evening News” anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell and “Face the Nation” moderator and CBS News chief foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan.
Here’s what to know about how the candidates are preparing for the debate:
How JD Vance is preparing for the VP debate
The Ohio Republican has been preparing for the debate for more than a month, a source directly involved told CBS News, including with “murder board” sessions with a small team that includes Vance’s wife and his advisers, along with senior Trump adviser Jason Miller.
Among Vance’s main focuses during the preparation has been studying Walz’ debate style and policy record, the source said, noting that Vance will attempt to highlight what he sees as the Minnesota governor’s left-wing views during the debate.
Vance told reporters last week that his plan is to break down what the Trump-Vance administration would do to make “life better” and connect that to policy.
“So, we’re studying up as much as we can on the issues that matter to the American people, and I’m looking forward to it,” Vance said.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, a Minnesota Republican, is standing in for Walz during Vance’s debate prep, four sources familiar with the preparations told CBS News. Emmer and Walz have deep roots in Minnesota and are close in age.
Emmer told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday that he’s known Walz for decades and has spent the last month working to “get his phrases down, his mannerisms.”
“My job was to be able to play Tim Walz so JD Vance knows what he’s going to see,” Emmer said.
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How Tim Walz is preparing for the VP debate
Walz has been preparing for the debate with a close team of advisers, a source familiar with the preparations told CBS News. Some of the people involved also helped Vice President Kamala Harris take on former President Donald Trump, among others, like a long-time aid to Walz who worked with him during his bids for governor.
For Walz, whose name recognition was until recently limited outside of Minnesota, the focus is on continuing to introduce himself to the American people, according to the source. He’ll also work to highlight Harris’ vision for the nation’s path forward.
“You’ll hear me talk like I have about things that impact Americans, making sure they have the opportunity to thrive, making sure that we’re being factual in how we talk about that,” Walz told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow of the debate earlier this month. “And so I’m looking forward to it. I’ll work hard, that’s what I do.”
During debate prep, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is standing in for Vance, a campaign official familiar with the preparation told CBS News. The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, also assisted Harris during her debate prep in 2020, and is close in age to Vance.
When and how to watch the presidential debate
Debate coverage on CBS News 24/7 begins at 4 p.m. ET, with the debate getting underway at 9 p.m. ET on Oct. 1.
The 90-minute debate will be streamed on CBS News 24/7 and Paramount+ across all available platforms and CBSNews.com. The debate will also be simulcast across other broadcast and cable networks.
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Actor John Ashton, best known for his role as the by-the-book detective in the “Beverly Hills Cop” franchise, has died, his publicist Alan Somers confirmed to CBS News on Sunday. He was 79.
Ashton died Thursday in Ft. Collins, Colorado, after a battle with cancer.
“John was a loving husband, brother, father, and grandfather who will be deeply missed by all who knew him,” a statement said.
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Ashton was born in Springfield, Massachusetts on Feb. 22, 1948, and raised in Enfield, Connecticut. He received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Southern California.
Throughout his 50-year career in show business, Ashton appeared in nearly 100 movies after making his debut in 1973’s “The Psychopath.”
He was probably best known for his role as Det. Sgt. John Taggart in the first two installments of the “Beverly Hills Cop” series alongside Eddie Murphy and Judge Reinhold. He reprised his role in 2024’s “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.”
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Other film credits include “Some Kind of Wonderful,” “She’s Having a Baby,” “Midnight Run,” “Little Big League” and “Gone Baby Gone.”
On television, he played Willie Joe Garr on several episodes of “Dallas” and made an appearance on such shows like “Columbo,” “Police Squad!” “Hardball” and others.
“John devoted his career to honing his craft and bringing characters to life on the screen. His presence will be greatly missed,” Somers said.
Ashton is survived by his wife Robin Hoye, three children, three step-children and a grandson. He also leaves behind two sisters and a brother.
“John leaves behind a legacy of love, dedication, and service. His memory will forever be treasured by his wife, children, grandchildren, as well as his brother, sisters, his extended family and all who loved him,” Somers said. “John’s impact on the world will be remembered and celebrated for generations to come.”
The family requests any donations in Ashton’s memory be made to Pathways Hospice Care
Residents in Georgia ordered to evacuate or shelter in place after fire at chemical plant
Israeli airstrikes kill dozens across Lebanon as Hezbollah confirms a 7th top commander was killed
Residents told to evacuate or take shelter after Georgia chemical plant fire