2 years ago
A New York judge on Monday held Donald Trump in contempt of court, ruling that the former president failed to comply with the state Office of the Attorney General’s requests for financial documents as part of the ongoing civil investigation into his business dealings.
Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to pay $10,000 every day until he respects the subpoena for documents issued by Attorney General Tish James’ office. The decision comes after James, a Democrat, filed a contempt motion earlier this month, asking that Trump be fined for failing to obey a court order with the requested records by the March 31 deadline.
“Mr. Trump, I know you take your business seriously, and I take mine seriously,” Engoron said before issuing his decision before the New York County Supreme Court.
The ruling can be seen as a victory for James, who launched her probe into the Trump Organization more than three years ago and has alleged a pattern of misleading or fraudulent representation of Trump’s assets in his annual financial statements.
The former president has been in an ongoing fight with James over the investigation, which he deems a partisan “witch hunt.” His lawyer Alina Habba has argued that the contempt motion is “misleading” and that Trump has complied and produced all relevant documents.
Habba said she planned to appeal Monday’s ruling.
English (US)