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The NRA's Misfire : 1A The National Rifle Association is in trouble. The organization filed for bankruptcy in January 2021 in an attempt to head off ongoing litigation threatening the group. The most serious is a case brought in August 2020 by the attorney general of New York, Letitia James, which is "seeking to dissolve the organization entirely." The lawsuit accuses NRA leaders of corruption and diverting millions of dollars for their own pleasure.

NPR correspondent Tim Mak has been tracking the NRA in his reporting for years. In his new book, Misfire: Inside The Downfall of the NRA, Mak investigates the group and its longtime CEO, Wayne LaPierre.

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The NRA's Misfire

The NRA's Misfire

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Wayne LaPierre, who leads the National Rifle Association, is profiled in a new book from NPR's Washington investigative correspondent Tim Mak. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption

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Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Wayne LaPierre, who leads the National Rifle Association, is profiled in a new book from NPR's Washington investigative correspondent Tim Mak.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

In 15o years, the National Rifle Association has grown into one of the most powerful organizations influencing politics in the United States. It's ballooned to millions of members and runs on an operating budget of hundreds of millions of dollars.

But the NRA is in trouble. The organization filed for bankruptcy in January 2021 in an attempt to head off ongoing litigation threatening the group. The most serious is a case brought in August 2020 by the attorney general of New York, Letitia James, which is "seeking to dissolve the organization entirely." The lawsuit accuses NRA leaders of corruption and diverting millions of dollars for their own pleasure.

NPR Washington correspondent Tim Mak has been tracking the NRA in his reporting for years. In his new book, "Misfire: Inside The Downfall of the NRA," Mak investigates the group and its longtime CEO, Wayne LaPierre.

Tim Mak joins us to discuss his new book.

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