Joshua Powell, the former chief of staff to the National Rifle Association’s CEO, has called for universal background checks and red flag laws in a new book detailing decades of mismanagement, abuses of power, and fraud within the organization. “Gun owners across America should be horrified by what I saw inside of the NRA,” Powell said in an interview with ABC on Thursday. The “huge Second Amendment supporter” said that the NRA has become more focused on money and internal intrigue rather than gun rights, stymying constructive dialogue on gun violence. He described his boss, Wayne LaPierre, as a woefully inept at management but skilled at courting President Trump’s support. A spokesperson for the powerful gun lobby said that Powell was “effusive in his praise of NRA leadership” until he was fired in 2018 for “misappropriation of funds.”
