Tish fights NRA move to dodge lawsuit

State Attorney General Letitia James urged a Manhattan judge Wednesday to not let the National Rifle Association dodge her lawsuit claiming financial mismanagement by simply packing up its guns and moving to Texas.

The Manhattan Supreme Court letter from the AG’s office came on the eve of arguments over the NRA’s efforts to fight the case.

The NRA declared bankruptcy last week and announced it would open new headquarters in the Lone Star State.

Bankruptcy filings usually freeze lawsuits against people or corporations. The

NRA says its bankruptcy filing should halt James’ suit alleging financial management. It hopes James’ case is dismissed or transferred out of state.

But James’ office argues that the law that freezes lawsuits in bankruptcy cases doesn’t apply to New York’s case because it is an “enforcement action ... aimed at protecting the public from fraud and from a charity’s abuse of its charitable status.”

“The NRA expressly stated that it is seeking to exit New York, its state of incorporation for nearly 150 years, to escape the authority of this court and the oversight of the attorney general, whom it falsely accuses of ‘an abuse of legal and regulatory power,’” Assistant Attorney General James Sheehan wrote in the letter.

James hit the NRA with a 163-page complaint last year charging “pervasive and systemic illegal conduct” in which top gun rights officials diverted million of dollars for private benefit. NRA loyalists were given no-show contracts, while whistleblowers and dissidents faced retaliation, she charged.

Justice Joel Cohen will hear arguments on the NRA’s effort to freeze the AG’s suit during the bankruptcy process.