INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Retired Lt. Col. Oliver North has announced that he won't serve a second term as the president of the National Rifle Association after he lost support of the gun-rights group's leadership.
In a statement read to members of the group Saturday, North said he had hoped to be endorsed by the NRA's board of directors for reelection. He said: "I'm now informed that will not happen."
North's announcement came after his apparent effort to force out top executive Wayne LaPierre, who has long been the public face of the group.
LaPierre sent a letter to board members Thursday saying that North was trying to push him out by threatening to release "damaging" information about him to the board.
North, best known for his role in the Iran-Contra scandal of the 1980s, is nearing the end of his first one-year term.
