NRA’s LaPierre Tells Judge He Failed to Disclose Yacht Trips

  • Gun lobby head says security justified free yacht trips
  • LaPierre also took Botswana hunting trip for image-building
Wayne LaPierre speaks at CPAC in Orlando, Florida.Photographer: Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg
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Wayne LaPierre, fighting to stay in control of the National Rifle Association, told a federal bankruptcy judge that he violated the powerful gun-rights group’s policies by failing to disclose free overseas yacht trips and other potential conflicts of interest.

Under questioning from a lawyer for New York’s Attorney General, LaPierre defended the use of the yacht, calling the trips a “security retreat.” Family members joined him occasionally on the yacht, which is owned by the principal shareholder of a company that was paid by the organization to raise money, handle public relations and produce television shows, LaPierre acknowledged in his testimony in federal court Wednesday.