(Reuters) - A top National Rifle Association officer testified on Monday that he had no doubt that CEO Wayne LaPierre was authorized to place the gun rights organization into bankruptcy, rejecting the New York Attorney General's contention that the NRA board was deceived into giving LaPierre that power.

The statements from NRA First Vice President Charles Cotton came during the first day of trial before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Harlin Hale in Dallas over the legitimacy of the organization's Chapter 11 case, which was filed in January. New York Attorney General Letitia James and the NRA's former ad agency, Ackerman McQueen, have moved to dismiss the case, saying it was not filed for lawful purposes under federal bankruptcy law.

The bench trial, which is being conducted virtually, will determine whether the NRA can stay in bankruptcy, which the organization said in January is intended to help it reincorporate in Texas. The NRA said it was looking to exit what it has called a corrupt political and regulatory environment in New York, where it faces litigation from James that aims to dissolve the organization. The attorney general's team, the NRA, Ackerman, and a committee of unsecured creditors made opening remarks on Monday. Cotton was the first witness called by James's team.

Assistant Attorney General Monica Connell on Monday described the NRA as a group completely controlled by LaPierre, saying anyone who challenged him did not last long. She also said LaPierre secured authority for the bankruptcy by slipping a provision to his employment agreement that gave him the power to enact financial restructuring decisions for the organization. The NRA board signed that employment contract during a Jan. 7 meeting.

But Cotton said on Monday that it was clear to him that the language of the provision meant LaPierre could place the organization into bankruptcy, even though the term "bankruptcy" itself was not used.

"To me, that's what it meant," Cotton said.

The board approved the bankruptcy during a meeting on March 28, more than two months after the case was filed.

Cotton said he was aware that bankruptcy was a potential option for the NRA in late 2020 but that he did not know it was definitely going to happen until the days leading up to the Jan. 15 filing. He also said that to his knowledge, NRA General Counsel John Frazer, then-Treasurer Craig Spray, and other board members were not told about the bankruptcy until after it was filed.

NRA lawyer Gregory Garman of Garman Turner Gordon defended the organization's decision to file for bankruptcy as well as LaPierre's conduct, in his opening statement on Monday. Garman acknowledged that the NRA had been "sloppy" with respect to certain internal policies in years past, but that it has "self-corrected" and that the employees who were at fault no longer work for the organization.

He also rejected the attorney general's argument that the board was duped by LaPierre into authorizing the bankruptcy through his employment contract.

"They are not rubber stamps [or] cronies who do whatever Mr. LaPierre asks them to do," Garman said.

The trial is set to resume on Tuesday and could last for a total of six days.

The case is In re National Rifle Association of America, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Texas, No. 21-30085.

For the NRA: Patrick Neligan, Douglas Buncher and John Gaither of Neligan and Gregory Garman, Gabrielle Hamm and Teresa Pilatowicz of Garman Turner Gordon

For the New York Attorney General: James Sheehan, Emily Stern, Monica Connell and Stephen Thompson of the Office of the Attorney General and Gerrit Pronske, Eric Van Horn and Jason Kathman of Spencer Fane