Former President Donald Trump must fulfill numerous requirements to avoid a civil contempt judgment being reinstated against him, including paying $110,000 in penalties and explaining how his namesake firm handled Post-it notes, according to a New York judge.
Judge Arthur Engoron requested sworn declarations explaining the Trump Organization's document retention and destruction procedures, as well as a study of five boxes associated with Donald Trump that was stored off-site. The restrictions must be completed by May 20, or the judge will reinstate the contempt finding and apply it retrospectively.
Judge Conditionally Lifts Donald Trump's Civil Contempt Order
Engoron agreed to let Trump put the money in an escrow account while he appealed the contempt verdict. "I want the fee paid," he told Trump's lawyer. "That fine is now $110,000." When Trump's attorneys presented more sworn declarations, including one from Trump, describing his efforts to comply with the New York attorney general's office's request for records, the court suspended the clock on the punishment as of last Friday.
In a statement, New York Attorney General Letitia James said Wednesday's contempt ruling sends a clear message to Donald Trump and his company, which she claims has sought to obstruct the investigation for years, that no one is above the law, as per CNN.
Following a private phone call with the parties involved in the case, Engoron gave his order. In April, lawyers for the attorney general indicated that James' civil probe is on track to end in a lawsuit against Trump, his family business, and top company officials.
Investigators claim they've found proof that Trump Organization officials routinely undervalued firm properties by hundreds of millions of dollars to profit themselves. As James' almost three-year investigation concludes, Trump has said, through his attorney Alina Habba, that he has no more evidence to personally hand over since he never puts anything in the paper, whether by email or text.
When Engoron asked about Trump's fondness for writing on Post-it notes, assistant Attorney General Kevin Wallace claimed the government had discovered proof that the digitally averse Trump did so daily. In a parallel criminal probe to James', the Trump Organization's long-serving chief financial officer Weisselberg and the corporation pled not guilty to criminal fraud charges. Prosecutors claim they participated in a daring 15-year tax evasion plan in which they avoided paying over $1 million in taxes.
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Judge's Criteria in Line With Letitia James' Conditions
Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan DA, has stated that the investigation he took over might still end in Trump being charged. However, the resignations of two of the investigation's top detectives, who indicated they believe Trump is guilty of several felonies, have led many to assume he will not face criminal charges.
Lawyers representing Trump and his adult children, Ivanka and Don Jr., were set to argue against a separate Engoron ruling forcing them to sit for depositions in James' inquiry before the Appellate Division, First Department later Wednesday, according to New York Daily News.
Trump added in a second affidavit filed with the petition that no pertinent papers had not yet been produced. He also stated that he had two cell phones: one for personal use that he gave in March for search as part of the subpoena and another that he submitted in May. Also, he was just granted a second phone that he solely uses to post on Truth Social, the social media network he founded after being banned from Twitter, Facebook, and other sites.
Engoron's criteria for relieving the contempt finding were broadly by James's office's requirements in its response Monday to Trump and his legal team's long submission last week in which they claimed they had exhausted all efforts to locate the requested data.
The conditions sought by James's office were: Trump submitting another affidavit detailing his and his company's document retention and destruction policies; allowing the outside firm Trump hired, HaystackID, to finish going through 17 boxes kept at an off-site storage facility, and for that company to issue a report on its findings and turn over any relevant documents, Market Watch reported.
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