MANHATTAN (CN) — National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre was only sometimes treated to meals cooked by a private chef when staying on an NRA vendor’s yacht, he told a jury on Friday.
“A chef would prepare you meals?” Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Conley asked LaPierre.
“Not all of the time,” LaPierre replied.
LaPierre gave long-awaited testimony at the New York Supreme Court in Manhattan on Friday in state Attorney General Letitia James’ corruption case against him and the NRA. James claims that LaPierre treated the nonprofit like his “personal piggy bank” when he billed it for personal expenses and failed to disclose conflicts and gifts.
Among those gifts were numerous globetrotting vacations with David McKenzie, a longtime vendor and, as LaPierre claimed Friday, a personal friend.
“We met in business, but I consider him a friend,” LaPierre said.
LaPierre admitted that he joined McKenzie for several luxurious trips on his friend’s dime, all while McKenzie’s TV studio was under contract with the NRA to produce “Crime Strike,” a reality show starring LaPierre himself.
Oftentimes, LaPierre said he would stay on McKenzie’s 107-foot yacht, “Illusions,” which featured a five-man crew, a private chef, Jet Skis and other amenities. On other occasions, LaPierre joined McKenzie on his bigger boat, “Grand Illusion.”
LaPierre said McKenzie would cover all of his expenses on these trips.
“That was really generous of the McKenzies, wasn't it?” Conley asked.
“Yes, they were friends,” LaPierre said.
Their travels took them to India, the Bahamas, the Greek Isles and more. But all the gifted trips shared one thing in common — LaPierre never disclosed them ahead of time.
“You didn't disclose these trips to the NRA in advance, correct?” Conley asked.
“Correct,” LaPierre replied.
“You didn’t get board approval for those, correct?” Conely asked.
“Correct,” LaPierre said.
Conley then showed the court one of LaPierre’s financial disclosure forms, which specifically asked if LaPierre received “any gift, gratuity, personal favor, or entertainment” worth more than $300 from “any person or entity that has or is seeking to have a business relationship, or receive funds from, NRA or any NRA entity.”
The exhibit showed that LaPierre checked the box marked “no.”
But the subject of LaPierre’s travels wasn't capped at his yacht trips with McKenzie. The attorney general is also accusing him of billing millions of dollars to the NRA for his own private jet travel, which LaPierre’s lawyer Kent Correll previously claimed was for safety reasons.
Some of those flights were for vacations for LaPierre and his family. On others, LaPierre wasn’t a passenger at all. On Friday, the attorney general showed the court invoices for pricey flights for LaPierre’s inner circle.
One flight from Dallas to Orlando for LaPierre’s niece and her husband cost the NRA nearly $27,000. LaPierre flew his niece’s husband from Las Vegas to Nebraska on a separate trip with a $15,000 price tag. A third invoice showed the NRA was billed nearly $9,000 for another Nebraska flight for LaPierre’s wife.
State lawyer Monica Connell claimed during the trial’s opening statements that the NRA paid “over a million dollars on flights on which Mr. LaPierre wasn’t even a passenger.”
LaPierre confirmed Friday that he was not a passenger on those flights.
Focus turned to LaPierre’s longtime assistant Millie Hallow, who state lawyers argue was also using donor money for personal charges under LaPierre’s watch. But LaPierre on Friday said that he knew nothing about Hallow’s personal spending, claiming instead that Hallow billed expenses behind his back.
Conley shared invoices for Hallow’s SUV chauffeur during a two-week Paris trip, which amounted to a total of more than $98,000. LaPierre said he had no reason to assume that number to be incorrect, but claimed that Hallow made those accommodations herself without his knowledge.
LaPierre also conceded that Hallow had used NRA funds to pay for her son’s wedding, but that she had “lied” to him to cover it up.
“I was very upset with it and I requested an investigation into the whole matter,” LaPierre said when he found out.
The longtime NRA chief rarely said more than required on Friday, answering most of Conley’s prods with a single word. It’s a far cry from the verbal sparring match that took place in the same courtroom just months ago, when former President Donald Trump took the stand for dramatic testimony in his own civil case against the attorney general.
Earlier this month and just days before the start of this trial, LaPierre resigned from the NRA after serving as its chief since 1991.
He cited “health reasons,” eventually revealing to the court that he suffers from chronic Lyme disease. Because of this, LaPierre’s testimony could last several days. His lawyer asked the judge that LaPierre not spend more than a few hours at a time on the witness stand, due to the fatigue and eye pain that he experiences from his ailment.
Because of these health issues, LaPierre's lawyer paused his testimony on Friday afternoon after close to four hours on the stand. He’ll return on Monday to resume.
The trial is expected to run through mid-February. LaPierre could owe the NRA millions of dollars in damages.
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