But on Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported that LaPierre told the NRA's board that he had refused a demand by North to step down and accused the NRA president of trying to extort him.
According to the Journal, North told the board that he was forming a crisis committee to look at the organization's finances and had told the board's executive committee that LaPierre charged more than $200,000 in wardrobe purchases to a vendor.
The dispute between LaPierre and North originated in part from a dispute between the NRA and contractor Ackerman McQueen Inc., an ad agency which runs NRATV, its online media service. That resulted in a lawsuit filed earlier this month by the NRA.
In the lawsuit, the NRA claimed Ackerman McQueen did not justify its billings with records, according to the Journal. Ackerman McQueen called the lawsuit "frivolous" and "inaccurate," the Journal reported.
In his letter this week, LaPierre wrote that North called his office to relay that unless he resigned, Ackerman McQueen Inc. was prepared to release a damaging letter to the NRA board, the Journal reported
"I believe the purpose of the letter was to humiliate me, discredit our Association, and raise appearances of impropriety that hurt our members and the Second Amendment," LaPierre wrote. "The letter would contain a devastating account of our financial status, sexual harassment charges against a staff member, accusations of wardrobe expenses and excessive staff travel expenses."
