NRA v. Oliver North

Excerpt from April 29, 2019 Minutes of the Meeting of the NRA Board (Exhibit 2 to Opposition Brief)

August 30, 2019

Filing Summary

This exhibit is an excerpt of NRA board minutes from April 29, 2019. The document, which only includes two pages of minutes from the NRA Audit Committee, is particularly interesting because the NRA does not make these meeting minutes public. 

Key Points

  • The first included resolution states that the contract between the NRA and the Brewer law firm “does not comply with the internal controls and policies established by the NRA,” and so the board resolves that “all representation of the NRA by Brewer must be pursuant to a contract that complies with the internal controls and policies established by the NRA.” (Pg. 5.). The minutes then note, without further explanation, that resolution was “retracted.” 
  • The second resolution states that “the United States Department of Justice and various congressional committees are conducting investigations regarding Russian conduct that could have violated the laws of the United States of America.” (Pg. 5.) The NRA therefore resolves to reimburse reasonable counsel fees for NRA officers and directors. (Pg. 5.)
  • Third, the committee “finds no conflict of interest” in Membership Marketing Partners (MMP) doing work with the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association (“NYSRPA”, the New York state affiliate of the NRA). The minutes note that NYSPRA “faces unique challenges in New York in fulfilling its mission.”  The minutes seems to indicate that MMP would ask NRA members in New York to join NYSRPA, and also ask NYSPRA members to join the NRA.
  • Fourth, there is a brief discussion of Robert Nosler – President of Nosler Inc. and also an NRA director and trustee of the NRA Foundation.  The resolution indicates that the NRA Foundation has been purchasing rifles from Nosler since 2014.  The resolution spills over to the next page, which is not included in the exhibit.