Oliver North says NRA is smearing him to avoid scrutiny

Former National Rifle Association President Oliver North says in court filings that he was thwarted as he tried to raise concerns about alleged misspending at the gun lobbying group. He denied that he had tried to stage a coup to oust NRA’s longtime top executive.

The documents detail concerns North said he raised over several months and efforts he said he made to try to have NRA spending audited and reviewed by an outside, independent entity. He said the red flags began to emerge this past spring when he heard that NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre had received tens of thousands of dollars in clothing, private jet travel and other perks from the group’s longtime marketing firm.

North also criticizes money being spent on legal fees.

The NRA says that North’s complaints are baseless and he’s trying to salvage a high-paying job with its former marketing firm.