A New York judge found Donald Trump in contempt of court on Monday, declaring that he refused to cooperate with the state Attorney General's requests for financial data as part of an ongoing civil probe into his business operations.
Judge Arthur Engoron has ordered Trump to pay $10,000 every day until he obeys Attorney General Letitia James' request for records. The ruling comes after James, a Democrat, filed a contempt petition earlier this month, seeking for punishment for Trump's failure to comply with a court order by March 31 and provide the sought data.
Donald Trump Ordered To Pay New York's AG $10,000 Daily Fine
The decision is a win for James, who began her investigation into the Trump Organization more than three years ago and has accused Trump of a history of misrepresenting or fabricating his assets in his yearly financial statements. James scored another court victory when Engoron ordered that Cushman & Wakefield, a commercial real estate firm, must cooperate with subpoenas related to its real estate activities for the firm and must submit the papers to the attorney general's office by May 27, according to Politico.
Earlier in the court, Trump's lawyer, Alina Habba, claimed that her client was free of charges since whatever records he might have were already handed over to the AG's office through the Trump Organization.
Engoron, on the other hand, pushed Habba on why Trump had not provided a sworn document confirming that fact. Habba described the AG's investigation as a political crusade that continues to grow and extend and has cost the Trump Organization millions of dollars in legal bills during oral arguments.
Trump's Legal Team To Appeal the Ruling
Trump's legal team wants to appeal the judgment, according to Habba outside of court. After Congressional evidence from Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen claimed Trump inflated firm assets to get an advantage on taxes, loan applications, and insurance reasons, James launched a probe in 2019, New York Post reported.
Ivanka Trump and Donald Jr., two of Trump's adult children, were also summoned and ordered to testify before the attorney general. The testimony is now on appeal. During the hearing, Andrew Amer, special litigation counsel for the attorney general's office, claimed that the $10,000-per-day fee was intended to push Trump into complying with the subpoena rather than penalize him.
Trump did cooperate with the subpoena, according to Habba, but he did not have any records that were pertinent to James' request. To comply with the subpoena, Engoron said she would have to provide a thorough affidavit regarding her examination of Trump's documents.
According to Halim Dhanidina, a former California judge who now practices law, such an affidavit would have to establish that Trump's staff had done a thorough search for materials.
The Trump Organization's property assessments are also under investigation by the Manhattan district attorney, who indicated the company's senior financial officer last year. Despite the resignation of two top lawyers, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg stated last month that the investigation is still proceeding, as per US News.
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