The Ball is in the NRA Board's Court

The verdict in the second phase of the NRA - NYAG trial leaves the heavy lifting to the Board

I testified in the second phase of the trial on Friday, July 19, making several points:

• In a prior life, I was part of a business that entered into a consent decree due to being out of compliance with the law. The first step is to admit it, figure out how it went sideways, get a plan to fix it, and then implement a plan that ensures it stays fixed across the entire business. This is what the NRA should have done. Fixing it is faster and much less expensive than fighting it.

• The reforms enacted by the NRA are a “Modified Limited Hangout.” They are just enough superficial changes to show that they have done “something” without making any changes of substance. Cotton and Coy as chairs of Audit and Finance committees, say that the old guard is still firmly in charge and that business as usual will continue.

• The issues at the trial have been going on for decades as documented in the Frenkel report back in 2003.

• The people that got us into this mess will not get us out of it (Cotton, Coy, etc.).

• The board needs a secure method of sharing documents without having to go to NRA headquarters physically.

• I filed an ethics complaint against John Frazer with the Virginia Bar Association.

Judge Cohen asked that the NRA and NYAG negotiate a settlement codifying the reforms that the NRA claims into requirements and changing out the Audit committee members who were there and approved all the improper transactions and lack of controls documented in the verdict. He also recommended putting a By-law amendment to the members to reduce the size of the board - long overdue.

President Barr claims this was a win. So, at or before the September 7 Board meeting, make the changes that a win signifies:

• Disband the Special Litigation Committee - it’s not needed anymore

• Withdraw any open appeals for the NYAG matter - stop wasting our member’s money

• Bring legal matters back under the control of the General Counsel. We spent far too much with Brewer already.

• Accept the changes suggested by Judge Cohen - if you are really making the changes - what is the risk to making them official?

• Implement a secure board portal.

• Implement a clear and unambiguous delegation of authority policy so that everyone knows the approval process and it can be followed and documented

• Recognize that the optics of Cotton on the Audit Committee are horrible. Fix that.

• Recognize that the reformers want what is best for the NRA. Cotton chairing the Ethics committee is a recipe for attempted retribution - stop it before it goes any further.

The Board needs to do its job before there is another bankruptcy filing and a Receiver will implement substantive changes. Members will not return, nor will donors return until they see substantive changes. The above items will demonstrate a positive move toward substantive change.