Italy's Salvini pushes for a new election over deadlocks

August 09, 2019

MILAN (AP) — Italy faced a government crisis Thursday after Interior Minister Matteo Salvini of the right-wing League party called for a new election, saying his party's coalition with the populist 5-Star Movement had collapsed over policy differences.

Premier Giuseppe Conte said he would convene Parliament, as requested by Salvini to seek a confidence vote, but showed his anger over what he called Salvini's move to "abruptly interrupt the actions of the government." He urged Salvini to explain himself to voters.

The governing two parties have been at odds over a host of policy issues but tensions spiraled Wednesday after the Senate rejected a move by 5-Star to kill a EU-funded high-speed rail link with neighboring France. The big infrastructure project — known in Italy as TAV — is backed by the League and seeks to improve rail links across several European nations.

As tones hardened, Salvini met with Conte on Thursday. After the meeting, Salvini issued a statement saying the TAV vote clearly showed that the ruling coalition had collapsed and called for a speedy election.

"Let's go immediately to the Parliament and verify that there is no longer a majority, as was evident in the vote on the TAV, and quickly return the word to voters," Salvini said. If the government should lose a confidence vote, that could set the stage for a new election.

In remarks to journalists late Thursday, Conte chastized Salvini for urging lawmakers to interrupt their vacations for a speedy confidence vote. "It is not for the interior minister to decide the timing of a political crisis in which other institutional actors are involved," the premier said.

Conte said he would be in touch with the speakers of both houses to work out when to convene Parliament. "I already clarified with Salvini during our meetings that this crisis that he triggered will be the moist transparent crisis in the history of the republic," Conte said.

In the event of a vote of no-confidence, it would be up to Italy's president to call a new election if he found no way of salvaging the government. Both the League and the 5-Star Movement have said they don't want to see a government formed of non-political technocrats.

The timing of any election is critical, as Italy must submit a budget in the fall — and needs a working majority to work out terms. The EU's third-largest economy barely dodged an EU budget disciplinary process over its rising debt levels this year.

The 5-Star leader, Luigi Di Maio, responded to Salvini's statement by saying his populist party was ready to go to a new election. But while Salvini wants immediate vote, Di Maio sought to postpone it until after parliament gave its final approval to a reform reducing the number of lawmakers, a vote that had been scheduled for early September.

Earlier Thursday, the right-wing League issued a statement complaining of deadlock with the 5-Star Movement on a variety of issues, saying "it is useless to go on" adding that "the only alternative to this government" is for a new election.

The high-speed train vote laid bare the deep divisions in the Italy's 14-month-old government, with the 5-Stars opposing the rail link as costly and unnecessary and the League supporting it as necessary for the economy and its core base of northern entrepreneurs.

After the vote, Salvini told supporters in the coastal town of Sabaudia "that something broke in the last months" in the governing coalition. Besides the high-speed rail-link, the League listed other areas of contention between the two parties, including fiscal policies, energy, justice reform, regional autonomy and relations with Europe.

In his comments Wednesday, Salvini noted that the 5-Star's pet electoral promise, basic income, which the government passed, was a handout that did not create jobs. Salvini is coming off another victory this week with the passage of a new security law that fines humanitarian rescue ships up to 1 million euros ($1.1 million) if they enter Italian waters with migrants. Preventing such ships from docking has been Salvini's hallmark as interior minister.

After approving a basic minimum income and reversing an unpopular pension reform, the government bogged down during the European election campaign and never appeared to regain its footing. Salvini's anti-migrant, anti-NGO stance is credited with the League's surge in popularity. After claiming just 17% of the vote in last year's national election, the league won 34% in European elections this spring. Surveys put support for the party now at 38%.

The 5-Star Movement's fortunes have sunk conversely, from nearly 33% of the vote in the national elections, giving it more seats in parliament than its partners, to just 17% in the European elections. Its support hovers at 17% currently.

Conte, who celebrated his 55th birthday Thursday, appeared bitter that his government experience appeared to be coming to an end, and took some swipes at Salvini, noting that the League is under investigation for allegedly taking funding from Russia and commenting on the League leader's recent public appearances and press conferences on Italian beaches.

Most of all, he took issue with suggestions that the government was in a stalemate. "I will not allow the narrative of a government that doesn't function. Of a government of 'No.' This government in reality has always spoken little, and worked a lot," Conte said. "This government wasn't at the beach every day, but in the institutional seats to work from morning to night with respect for Italians."

Indonesian voters decide between moderate and ex-general

April 17, 2019

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Tens of millions of Indonesians voted in presidential and legislative elections Wednesday after a campaign that pitted the moderate incumbent against an ultranationalist former general whose fear-based rhetoric warned that the country would fall apart without his strongman leadership.

Polling booths closed first in easternmost provinces such as Papua followed an hour later by central regions including Bali, and finally western provinces and Jakarta, the capital. Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago of 17,000 islands and hundreds of ethnic groups, has three time zones.

Preliminary results based on so-called "quick counts" as votes are publicly tallied at polling stations were expected to start rolling in within two hours of the final poll closings. The quick counts from reputable survey organizations have been reliable in past elections.

About 193 million people were eligible to vote in elections that will decide who leads the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation and third-largest democracy after India and the U.S. Indonesians are voted for Senate and national, provincial and district legislatures.

The elections are a huge logistical exercise, with more than 800,000 polling stations and 17 million people involved in ensuring they run smoothly. Helicopters, boats and horses were used to get ballots to remote and inaccessible corners of the archipelago.

The presidential race is a choice between five more years of the steady progress achieved under Indonesia's first president from outside the Jakarta elite, Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, or electing Prabowo Subianto, who was a special forces general during the era of the Suharto military dictatorship.

Pre-election polls consistently gave a large lead of as much as 20 percentage points to Widodo and his running mate, conservative cleric Ma'ruf Amin, though analysts said the race was likely tighter. "I've voted for Jokowi because five years in office was not enough for him to complete his brilliant programs for infrastructure, health and education," said Eko Cahya Pratama, 43, after voting in Tangerang on the outskirts of Jakarta.

"For me, this country is better to be managed by a man with a clean track record rather than a dirty one in the past," he said. Widodo's campaign highlighted his progress in poverty reduction and improving Indonesia's inadequate infrastructure with new ports, toll roads, airports and mass rapid transit. The latter became a reality last month in chronically congested Jakarta with the opening of a subway.

A strident nationalist, Subianto ran a fear-based campaign, highlighting what he sees as Indonesia's weakness and the risk of exploitation by foreign powers or disintegration. "He deserves to get my vote because I was impressed with his commitment to create a clean government and a great nation," said Anneka Karoine, 43, after she and her husband voted for Subianto and his running mate, tycoon Sandiaga Uno. "I believe they will lead our country better than the current leader."

Subianto voted not long after 8 a.m. in Bogor in West Java province, one of his strongholds of support, and told reporters he was confident of winning despite trailing in the polls. "I promised that we will work for the good of the country," he said. "If it's chaos or not, it's not coming from us. But I guarantee that we don't want to be cheated anymore, that Indonesian people don't want to be cheated anymore."

Widodo, who voted in Jakarta, held up a finger dipped in inedible ink to show reporters and said his next stop was playing with his grandson and eating with his wife, Iriana Widodo. Asked if he was feeling optimistic about the results of Wednesday's vote, Widodo said: "Always. We should stay optimistic at work."

Voting in Indian elections reaches next-to-last phase

May 12, 2019

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indians are voting in the next-to-last round of 6-week-long national elections, marked by a highly acrimonious campaign with Prime Minister Narendra Modi flaying the opposition Congress party rival Rahul Gandh's family for the country's ills.

Sunday's voting in 59 constituencies, including seven in the Indian capital, will complete polling for 483 of 543 seats in the lower house of Parliament. The voting for the remaining 60 seats will be held on May 19.

Votes will be counted on May 23. India has a total of 900 million voters. Turnout in the first five phases averaged 67%, nearly the same as in 2014 elections that brought Modi to power. Opinion polls say Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party continues to be the front-runner, but it is likely to return with a lesser number of 282 seats. The BJP captured 31% of votes in 2014, but it won more than half the seats to wrest power from the Congress party in a first-past-the-post electoral system in which a candidate who receives the most votes wins.

Modi is running his campaign like a presidential race, a referendum on his five years of rule with claims of helping the poorest with doles, free health care, providing toilets in their homes and helping women get free or cheap cooking gas cylinders.

At the same time, he is banking on stirring Hindu nationalism by accusing the Congress party of being soft on nuclear-rival Pakistan and terrorism, pandering to minority Muslims for votes and pampering Kashmiri separatists.

Opposition parties accuse Modi of digressing from the main issues affecting nearly 70% of population living in villages and small towns. The opposition is challenging him over India's 6.1% unemployment rate — the highest in decades— and the economic difficulties of farmers hurt by low crop prices that led many to take own lives. Opposition officials have also alleged corruption in a deal for India to purchase French fighter jets.

"Modi personally has been the most visible prime minister," said Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, a political commentator and biographer of Modi. But he adds, "There could be an element of fatigue also. People at the end of it are looking at their bottomline. I think the issues of employment and rural distress are very important."

Throughout the monthlong campaign, Modi has projected himself as a "chowkidar," or watchman, guarding the country's interests. Rahul Gandhi, 48-year-old scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family and the Congress party president, has accused Modi of buying 36 French Rafale fighters jets at an exorbitant price, and helping a private industrialist by promoting him as an offset partner of Dassault, the aircraft manufacturer.

Gandhi adopted a rallying cry of "Chowkidar Chor Hai," or "the watchman is a thief." Stung by the accusation, Modi accused Rajiv Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi's late father and former prime minister of India, of corruption — an apparent reference to the purchase by India of Swedish Bofors artillery guns in 1980s. Rajiv Gandhi was accused of receiving kickbacks for the deal, but the allegation was never proved in court.

Modi also is unsparing in his criticism of Rahul Gandhi's great-grandfather and India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, blaming him for the country's border disputes with China and Pakistan and a lack of development while he was at the helm 1947 to 1964.

Rahul reacted with a tweet: "Dear Mr Modi, Your recent statements, interviews & videos are giving India the distinct feeling that you're cracking under pressure." He has challenged Modi to a public debate over the Rafale aircraft deal. But Modi so far has ignored the challenge.

Gandhi's biggest political triumph since he joined politics 15 years ago was easily his party's win in assembly elections in December, wrangling power away from Modi's BJP in the states of Rajasthan, Madya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

The opposition has also accused Modi of a following a pattern of antagonism against Muslims since his government government came to power in 2014. Modi has adopted a nationalist pitch in trying to win votes from the country's Hindu majority by projecting a tough stance against Pakistan, India's Muslim-majority neighbor and archrival.

Human Rights Watch reported an increase in attacks by so-called cow vigilantes against Muslims and lower-caste Hindus suspected of illegally transporting cattle or eating beef in recent years. Hindus comprise more than 80% of India's 1.3 billion people and Muslims nearly 16%.

Gandhi scion comes into his own as India polls near finish

May 07, 2019

NEW DELHI (AP) — With India's general election inching toward the finish line, the battle for one seat in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh is being closely watched to see whether the scion of the country's most important modern political dynasty can retain his seat and revive his party's fortunes.

After 15 years in politics, Rahul Gandhi is beginning to articulate a vision for India that some observers say is making him a more credible leader. But it's unclear whether Gandhi, who is president of the opposition Congress party, has rallied enough support in time to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Gandhi, 48, has often been the object of derision from political rivals, who accuse him, despite his pedigree, of being a lightweight. In contrast to Modi, a tea seller's son who went on to become India's leader, Gandhi inherited his power, making him an easy target of charges of nepotism and dynasty politics.

For years, Modi and other leaders of his Bharatiya Janata Party have referred to Gandhi as the "shehzada," or prince. Critics accuse him of being aloof, a cosmopolitan elite detached from the harsh realities of India's legions of rural poor.

After the Congress party's hold in Parliament collapsed from 206 of 543 seats to a mere 44 seats in 2014 elections, Gandhi's political obituary was all but written. But with small businesses and farmers hurt by some of Modi's signature policies, and mob attacks on Muslims on the rise, Gandhi and the inclusive, secular politics the Congress party has long represented are starting to resonate.

Gandhi is seeking re-election for a fourth consecutive time in the Uttar Pradesh town of Amethi. The general election, which is being held in seven phases, ends May 19, and vote counting begins May 23.

"In finding his feet in politics, Gandhi has become a perfect foil for Modi," said political commentator Seema Mustafa. "He comes through as humble, democratic and responsive, and plays on love, peace and humanity as against hate and aggression. The smile against the wagging finger, the embrace against the threat — it is all now part of a persona, natural and yet crafted."

If Gandhi came across as a reluctant politician, the reasons are not hard to find. His family, starting with his great-grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru, has produced three prime ministers. Two of them — his grandmother Indira Gandhi and father, Rajiv Gandhi — were assassinated in office.

"In my life, I have seen my grandmother die, I have seen my father die, I have seen my grandmother go to jail, and I have actually been through a tremendous amount of a pain as a child," Gandhi said in a 2014 interview with an Indian TV channel.

Even after becoming a lawmaker, he distanced himself from political life, refusing to even call himself a candidate for prime minister. In 2014, he was re-elected in Amethi, considered a Gandhi bastion, by only a thin margin.

Yet, under relentless public scrutiny, Gandhi has honed his public speaking and leadership skills. He now comes across as more confident, forceful and credible, according to political analysts. And he is also starting to come across as a vigorous and even pugnacious campaigner.

In Parliament, where he's represented Amethi since 2004, he had been a backbencher, leaving the party reins largely to his mother, Sonia Gandhi. But he's started to hit back. One recent barb in particular struck home — he taunted Modi for wearing a monogrammed suit worth $14,400, saying that Modi's "suit-boot" government was only for the rich.

Perhaps most important, Gandhi has shown he has the stomach for a fight, even challenging Modi, a much more experienced politician, to a public debate. Modi has ignored the challenge. Gandhi's biggest political triumph in 15 years was easily Congress' win in assembly elections in December, wrangling power away from Modi's BJP in the states of Rajasthan, Madya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Suddenly, the BJPs' preferred Gandhi jibe — "pappu," Hindi for greenhorn — began to fall flat. Suhsmita Dave, head of the Congress party's women's wing, said she has known Gandhi well for a decade and he's basically the same man. The only difference, she said, is that earlier, he held back out of respect for protocol, letting his mother run the party and Manmohan Singh lead the Congress-controlled government.

"He let them get on with their jobs. This gave the BJP a chance to paint him as a reluctant politician," Dave said. "But the truth is that he was never a leader in a hurry. He waited his turn. When it came, he took the bull by the horns and has been vocal and aggressive. There is no point firing your gun until the time is right."

Still, critics say there's a long way to go. Gandhi brought his sister, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, into the party, appointing her to oversee a post in the eastern part of Uttar Pradesh that includes Varanasi, the Hindu holy city where Modi is up for re-election as a member of Parliament. Her popularity has drawn huge crowds to campaign events, but it may not be enough to counter her brother's perceived sluggishness.

Gandhi has been criticized for his low attendance in the last Parliament, showing up just over half the time; for being abroad at critical moments; for describing power as "poison"; for not cultivating a younger generation of Congress leaders; and for failing to fulfill a promise to overhaul his party's hierarchy.

He also was unable to forge an alliance with two important opposition parties in vote-rich Uttar Pradesh to wrest power away from the BJP in the current election. In New Delhi, too, he was unable to tie up with the ruling party to combat the BJP.

Whatever the result of the election, Gandhi is now seen as a feisty opponent, most recently in an interview with the daily Indian Express newspaper. "That destruction of the idea of an invincible Mr. Modi, that destruction of the lie of Mr. Modi, is primarily the work of the Congress party," he said.

2nd phase of voting begins in India with Kashmir in lockdown

April 18, 2019

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Voting began in the second phase of India's general elections Thursday amid massive security and a lockdown in parts of the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Srinagar is one of 95 constituencies across 13 Indian states where voting was taking place.

Kashmiri Muslim separatist leaders who challenge India's sovereignty over the disputed region have called for a boycott of the vote, calling it an illegitimate exercise under military occupation. Most polling stations in the Srinagar and Budgam areas of Kashmir looked deserted in the morning, with more armed police, paramilitary soldiers and election staff than voters.

Authorities shut down mobile internet services and closed some roads with steel barricades and razor wire as armed soldiers and police in riot gear patrolled the streets. Voting was expected to be brisk in the Hindu-dominated Udhampur constituency of the region.

The Indian election is taking place in seven phases over six weeks in the country of 1.3 billion people. Some 900 million people are registered to vote for candidates to fill 543 seats in India's lower house of Parliament.

Voting concludes on May 19 and counting is scheduled for May 23. Also voting Thursday is Tamil Nadu state in the south, where tens of thousands lined up to cast their ballots for 37 seats. Voting was postponed for the Vellore seat following the seizure of 110 million ($1.57 million) in unaccounted cash allegedly from the home of a local opposition politician, Kathir Anand.

His party accused federal tax authorities of raiding the homes and offices of party leaders running against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist party. The governing party in the state, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, is an ally of Modi's party.

The Election Commission said that authorities had recovered 2 billion rupees ($29 million) from leaders, workers and supporters of various political parties in the state in the past month. They suspect the money is for buying votes.

In vote-rich Uttar Pradesh state, election officials directed authorities to provide drinking water and sun shelters at polling stations to cope with the scorching summer heat, said Vekenteshwar Lu, the state's chief electoral officer.

The election, the world's largest democratic exercise, is seen as a referendum on Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party. Modi has used Kashmir as one of the top issues of his campaign and played up the threat of rival Pakistan, especially after the suicide bombing of a paramilitary convoy on Feb. 14 that killed 40 soldiers. The bombing brought nuclear rivals India and Pakistan close to the brink of war.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan and both claim the Himalayan territory in its entirety. Rebels have been fighting Indian control since 1989. Most Kashmiris support the rebels' demand that the territory be united either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country, while also participating in civilian street protests against Indian control.

Anti-India unrest has risen significantly since Modi came to power in 2014 amid a rise in Hindu nationalism and attacks against Muslims and other minorities. Modi supporters say the tea seller's son from Gujarat state has improved the nation's standing. But critics say his party's Hindu nationalism has aggravated religious tensions in India.

Associated Press writers Ashok Sharma in Bew Delhi and Biswajeet Banerjee in Lucknow, India, contributed to this report.

India votes in 1st phase of long polls seen as test for Modi

April 11, 2019

NEW DELHI (AP) — Polls opened Thursday in the first phase of India's general elections, seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party. A festive spirit prevailed as men and women in colorful clothes made their way to heavily guarded voting stations in large numbers.

In the world's largest democratic exercise, voters in 18 Indian states and two Union Territories are casting ballots on Thursday, the first day of a seven-phase election staggered over six weeks in the country of 1.3 billion people.

Modi supporters say the tea seller's son from Gujarat state has improved the nation's standing. But critics say his party's Hindu nationalism has aggravated religious tensions in India. "I vote for the progress of my country," said businessman Manish Kumar. "And in our country, we want a prime minister like Narendra Modi," he said after casting his ballot in Ghaziabad district in Uttar Pradesh state.

Tapan Shome, an accountant, said he and his wife voted "to make India a good, prosperous country." Thursday's voting is important for the BJP as it had won only 32 of 91 seats in the previous 2014 elections. It is seeking to improve its tally this time.

Modi came to power in 2014 and the party invoked its Hindu nationalist roots before the elections, with Modi at the forefront against the threat of Pakistan, India's Muslim-majority archrival. Hindus comprise about 80% of India's 1.3 billion people.

Even though India continues to be one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, the Modi-led government's performance on the economy has come under criticism. The first item in the opposition Congress party's election manifesto describes a plan for creating jobs. It also promises an income subsidy program for the poorest families and for farmers.

Voting also began for two parliamentary seats in the Indian-controlled portion of disputed Kashmir amid tight security and a boycott call by Muslim separatists who say the polls are an illegitimate exercise. Armed police and paramilitary soldiers in riot gears guarded polling stations and nearby roads.

Shops, businesses and most schools were closed on Thursday in response to a strike called by separatist leaders who challenge India's sovereignty over Kashmir and seek right to self-determination for the entire territory as demanded by United Nations resolutions.

In the northern Baramulla area, many people said they came out to vote only against Modi's BJP, calling it an "anti-Muslim" and "anti-Kashmiri" party. They opposed the BJP's election manifesto, which promised to scrap decades-old special rights for the Kashmiris under India's Constitution. The special status prevents outsiders from buying property in the territory.

"I didn't want to vote but then there's an imminent threat by politicians like Modi who are up in arms against Kashmiris," said Abdul Qayoom, a voter in Baramulla town. "They've taken our rights, now they want to dispossess us from our land. We want to stop people like Modi."

The voting follows a sweeping crackdown with police arresting hundreds of Kashmiri leaders and activists. Authorities also banned the movement of civilian vehicles on a key highway to keep it open exclusively for military and paramilitary convoys two days a week during India's general election.

Some 900 million people are eligible to cast ballots at around a million polling stations across India. They will decide 543 seats in India's lower house of Parliament. Voting concludes on May 19 and counting is scheduled for May 23.

Associated Press writers Aijaz Hussain in Srinagar, India, Shonal Ganguly in New Delhi contributed to this report.

NRA's LaPierre fends off backlash, wins re-election as CEO

April 30, 2019

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The National Rifle Association, facing internal turmoil over its financial management, increasingly partisan tone, and legal threats from government regulators, beat back efforts to overhaul its operations. Wayne LaPierre, the public face of the gun lobbying group for decades, fended off a backlash and was re-appointment Monday as the gun lobby's CEO.

It was unclear if the debate that has roiled the 5-million-member organization in recent weeks would still lead to significant changes in its operations. In recent days, retired Lt. Col. Oliver North lost a bid for a second term as president and the next likely successor was passed over in favor of Carolyn Meadows. But most of the board remained intact and despite a very public tussle with its longtime public relations firm, which has received tens of millions of dollars to steer its message, the board did not formally sever ties with it.

Despite the turmoil, LaPierre struck a cheery tone in a statement after the board meeting: "United we stand. The NRA board of directors, our leadership team, and our more than 5 million members will come together as never before in support of our country's constitutional freedoms."

For the past two decades, the NRA has faced criticism from among its ranks that its leaders had become corrupted by the millions of dollars flowing into its coffers. The criticism has included allegations of self-dealing and excessive personal spending. Now the pressure has increased with New York's attorney general opening an investigation that could threaten the group's tax-exempt status.

The NRA's charter was originally filed in New York, giving authorities there broad latitude to investigate its operations. Newly elected New York Attorney General Letitia James has made no bones about her dislike of the NRA, calling it a "terrorist organization."

"I never thought this thing would ever get to the level it got," Joel Friedman, an NRA board member since 2002, told The Associated Press before the 76-member board met to decide whether organizational changes were needed to stave off punitive action by New York authorities.

Just last year, an investigation by the previous New York attorney general led President Donald Trump's charitable foundation to dissolve amid allegations it was operating as an extension of Trump's business empire and presidential campaign.

The prospect of scrutiny by New York authorities led the NRA last year to hire an outside law firm and to ask its vendors to provide documentation about its billings. The NRA in recent weeks sued Ackerman McQueen, the Oklahoma-based public relations firm that has earned tens of millions of dollars from the NRA since it began shaping the gun lobby's fierce talking points in the past two decades. The NRA accused Ackerman McQueen of refusing to provide the requested documents.

Ackerman McQueen turned the NRA from an organization focused on hunting and gun safety into a conservative political powerhouse. The firm created and operates NRATV, an online channel whose hosts often venture into political debates not directly related to firearms, such as immigration and diversity on children's TV.

The NRA has faced some financial struggles in recent years, losing a combined $64 million in 2016 and 2017, and that has prompted some to question whether the large sums spent on public relations and NRATV are worth the money. In its lawsuit, the NRA said some of its members have questioned NRATV's weighing in on "topics far afield of the Second Amendment."

The turmoil boiled over Saturday when retired Lt. Col. Oliver North, a conservative stalwart aligned with the public relations firm and host of NRATV's "American Heroes" segment, was essentially ousted from his role as NRA president after trying to force LaPierre out.

According to LaPierre, North tried to strong-arm him into resigning by threatening to expose damaging information about the NRA's finances — specifically, allegedly excessive staff travel expenses — as well as sexual harassment allegations against an employee and accusations that LaPierre had charged tens of thousands of dollars in wardrobe purchases to his expense account.

North's own contract with Ackerman McQueen raised alarm bells within the NRA about the costs and possible conflicts of interest. LaPierre, in a letter to the board, noted that of the 12 TV episodes Ackerman McQueen promised to deliver, only three have aired.

NRA insiders in recent weeks have described an operation with warring factions, a place where some are compensated richly, driving expensive cars and wearing fancy clothes, while most rank-and-file are paid so little that they hold down more than one job and risk being ostracized or fired if they question expenses.

"Right now, it looks like the NRA has become like a self-licking ice cream cone," Allen West, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, conservative commentator and relatively recent NRA board member said in a video interview with the website Tactical Rifleman. "A lot of money is being raised just to scratch the backs of certain — a cabal of cronyism."

"We've got one shot to fix this, and we've got one shot to make it right, which means there probably does have to be some personnel leadership changes," he said. "There also definitely has to be organizational reforms."

Trump weighed in Monday in defense of the NRA against New York authorities. "The NRA is under siege by Cuomo and the New York State A.G., who are illegally using the State's legal apparatus to take down and destroy this very important organization, & others. It must get its act together quickly, stop the internal fighting, & get back to GREATNESS - FAST!" he tweeted.