NY judge finds Trump in contempt, fines him $10K a day
NEW YORK — A New York judge found former President Donald Trump in contempt of court Monday for failing to adequately respond to a subpoena issued by the state’s attorney general as part of a civil investigation into his business dealings.
Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to pay a fine of $10,000 per day.
“Mr. Trump, I know you take your business seriously, and I take mine seriously,” Engoron said before issuing the ruling from the bench in a Manhattan courtroom, following a hearing.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, had asked the court to hold Trump in contempt after he missed a March 31 court-imposed deadline to turn over documents. The judge said a contempt finding was appropriate because Trump and his lawyers hadn’t shown that they had conducted a proper search for the records.
“Today, justice prevailed,” James said following the hearing. “For years, Donald Trump has tried to evade the law and stop our lawful investigation into him and his company’s financial dealings. Today’s ruling makes clear: No one is above the law.”
Trump, a Republican, has been fighting James in court over her investigation, which he has called a politically motivated “witch hunt.”
James has been conducting an investigation into the Trump Organization, the former president’s company, centering around what she claims is a pattern of misleading banks and tax authorities about the value of his properties.
At the center of the inquiry is whether the Trump Organization deliberately misstated the valuations of its real estate holdings in official documents, inflating their worth to obtain loans and other financing and understating them for tax purposes.
The subpoena by investigators in December sought eight types of documents, as well as depositions by Trump and two of his children, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump. The Trumps then filed suit to try to quash the subpoena.
The contempt finding by the judge came despite a spirited argument by Trump lawyer Alina Habba, who insisted repeatedly that she went to great lengths to comply with the subpoena, even traveling to Florida to ask Trump specifically whether he had in his possession any documents that would be responsive to the demand.
“The contempt motion is inappropriate and misleading,” she said. “He complied . ... There are no more documents left to produce by President Trump.”
Trump spokespeople did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Investigators for James have said in court filings that they uncovered evidence that Trump may have misstated the value of assets such as golf courses and skyscrapers on his financial statements for more than a decade.
A parallel criminal investigation is being conducted by the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, also a Democrat.
The criminal investigation, however, appeared to have stalled two months ago when two prosecutors leading the district attorney’s inquiry abruptly resigned.
One of them, Mark Pomerantz, told Bragg that he should pursue a case because he believes Trump “is guilty of numerous felony violations” with respect to statements of his financial condition.
But this month, Bragg sent out a statement claiming the Trump investigation is continuing. “I pledge that the Office will publicly state the conclusion of our investigation – whether we conclude our work without bringing charges, or move forward with an indictment.”