Menendez, Wyden, Whitehouse Urge NRA to Allow Longtime Advertising Agency to Cooperate with Investigation

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), members of the Senate Finance Committee, today released the following statement after the National Rifle Association (NRA) failed to provide responsive documents to committee Democrats latest requests and the NRA’s longtime advertising agency, Ackerman McQueen, indicated that it is willing to cooperate with committee Democrats’ investigation, but the NRA has barred it from doing so:

“The NRA’s legal problems are mounting and potentially threatening its tax-exempt status. Its largest vendor, Ackerman McQueen, has indicated that it is willing to cooperate with investigations, if the NRA will permit it to do so. The NRA ought to allow its longtime vendor to turn over requested documents. We are dismayed by the lack of cooperation from the NRA. Attempting to thwart the cooperation of other organizations is outrageous and unacceptable.”

The Senators last month requested information from current and former leadership of the NRA and Ackerman McQueen to investigate allegations of self-dealing and whether the organization should maintain its 501(c)(4) status.

The letter from Ackerman McQueen is available here.

The letter from the NRA is available here.