The NRA's ad agency says CEO Wayne LaPierre charged more than $240,000 in travel expenses

The National Rifle Association's longtime advertising agency says that NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre charged more than $240,000 in expenses while on several trips, but was unable to produce all of the receipts, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.

In a letter dated April 22, Ackerman McQueen told LaPierre it is "imperative" he get the documentation to the firm, the Journal reports. The letter was also sent to the NRA's board of directors last week, delivered by then-NRA President Oliver North. North said a committee needed to investigate the travel costs and also look into other money mismanagement; in turn, LaPierre accused North of extortion, and pushed him out of the organization. Ackerman McQueen has worked for the NRA for decades, but the two organizations are now at odds, after the NRA sued the firm last month for breach of contract.

The travel in question includes trips LaPierre took to Hungary, Italy, the Bahamas, Palm Beach, and Reno, and the agency was reimbursed by the NRA over time. William A. Brewer III, an outside attorney for the NRA, told the Journal the "vast majority" of LaPierre's travel "involved donor outreach, fundraising, and stakeholder engagement." The expenses went through Ackerman McQueen for "confidentiality and security purposes," he said, and this practice has been changed.

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