New York State Attorney General Letitia James has recently filed a motion asking a judge to hold former United States President Donald Trump in contempt for failure to hand over documents related to her civil investigation into the Trump Organization.
The Thursday announcement details the request by lawyers of James' office, which argues that the Republican businessman refused to turn over documents that the attorney general had requested eight times. Furthermore, the filing asked the judge to fine Trump $10,000 per day until he chooses to turn over the sensitive materials.
Holding Trump in Contempt
James' office's filing cited a response from Trump's legal team that argued that the attorney general's requests were "grossly overbroad, unintelligible, unduly burdensome" and did not "adequately" describe the requested materials. On Thursday evening, Trump released a statement criticizing the investigation, calling it a "witch hunt" that James was using for political gain.
Trump described James' investigation and her other previous efforts as "an attempt to silence a president who is leading in every single poll." A spokeswoman for the Trump Organization called the New York attorney general's move "baseless" in a separate statement, saying that the company had already handed over documents in response to the official's requests, as per the New York Times.
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The New York attorney general cited that Trump refused Judge Arthur Engoron's order to comply with James' subpoena. The judge's February order also required Trump and his two eldest children, Ivanka Trump and Don Jr., to sit for depositions in relation to the civil probe but which remained pending before an appellate court.
James' office argued that the court's order was not an opening bid for an investigation or an invitation for a new round of challenges to the subpoena. The attorney general also asked for her office to be compensated for the former president's "disobedience in the form of an award of [the AG's] costs and fees in connection with filing this motion."
Investigation of Trump Organization
According to the Washington Post, the investigation into the Trump organization seeks to determine whether or not Trump or other executives of the company broke the law by manipulating the value of assets to get tax benefits or favorable loan rates. It could also lead to a lawsuit against the former president, his adult children, or his business.
The situation comes after the Trump Organization's own accounting firm, Mazars USA, released a statement warning that the company's financial statements could no longer be relied upon to be accurate. Part of the orders on Trump includes having him comply with a subpoena that told him to turn over "documents and communications" related to his financing of the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago.
James' long-running investigation appears to be at its final stages, with the Trump Organization having only a few more weeks to turn over documents that the attorney general's office has requested three years ago. Furthermore, many are looking toward James' parallel criminal investigation at the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and how it seems to be fizzling out, The Daily Beast reported.
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