A judge on Monday held Donald Trump in contempt of court for failing to turn over records being sought as part of a civil probe into Trump’s business practices – a striking and potentially costly public admonishment of the former president.
Lawyers from office of New York Attorney General Letitia James, D, did not seek to jail Trump, but asked New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron to penalize him financially for failing to comply with an order to produce the documents by March 31.
Engoron agreed to fine Trump $10,000 for each day the failure to comply continues. Trump’s lawyer said she would appeal the decision.
“Mr. Trump, I know you take your business seriously, and I take mine seriously,” Engoron said in issuing his order – appearing to address the former president directly even though Trump was not in the courtroom for the hearing.
The judge said he would hold Trump in contempt until Trump and his legal team fully detail the extent of their search and either submit the records or swear that no records being sought exist. He asked for the “who, what, when, where and how any search was conducted.”
While the Trump Organization has given James’s office more than 6 million pages of records, investigators are still seeking items from Trump’s personal files, including handwritten notes related to statements of his net worth that he signed and submitted to banks and other parties. The documents were first requested nearly five months ago.
Also at Monday’s hearing, a lawyer for James’s office said an “enforcement action” may soon be taken in the long-running civil investigation. James has the ability to sue over her findings, a move that could result in significant financial penalties and other repercussions for Trump’s family real estate and golf resort operation if they are found to be in violation of the law.
Trump lawyer Alina Habba said during the hearing that Trump “is an honest person, much to the dismay of certain people in this room.” She said she would appeal the contempt order.
James, D, opened a civil probe into the business practices of Trump and the family-run Trump Organization in 2019. She has said the Trump Organization and its executives may have broken the law by manipulating the value of assets for better loan rates and tax benefits.
Separately, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, D, has an open criminal investigation covering the same territory. James is also a partner in the criminal case.
(c) 2022, The Washington Post · Shayna Jacobs
why don’t you ask for Hunter & Joe Biden’s record of ILLEGAL business with Ukraine & Russia where they got paid MILLIONS OF DOLLARS – where’s JUSTICE?
Judges like this disgust me. This case is clearly politically motivated and should be thrown out. Whether you like Trump or despise him, you shouldn’t allow an attorney general to target political opponents and scrutinize every business deal they ever made until you can find one slip-up to hang them on.