Judge: Trump must pay $110K, meet conditions to end contempt
NEW YORK — A New York judge said Wednesday he will lift Donald Trump’s contempt of court order if the former president meets certain conditions, including paying $110,000 in fines he’s racked up for being slow to respond to a subpoena for evidence in a civil investigation into his business practices.
In one of two Trump subpoena fights before courts on Wednesday, Judge Arthur Engoron said he will lift his finding of contempt if Trump submits additional paperwork by May 20 detailing efforts to search for the subpoenaed records and explaining his and his company’s document retention policies.
The judge also requires that a company Trump hired to aid in the search, HaystackID, 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.
Engoron found Trump in contempt on April 25 and fined him $10,000 per day for not complying with New York Attorney General Letitia James’ subpoena. While appealing the ruling, Trump’s lawyers repeatedly asked Engoron to reconsider, leading to his order Wednesday outlining criteria for lifting the sanctions.
Also Wednesday, the appellate division of the state’s trial court was scheduled to hear oral arguments in a related subpoena matter: Trump’s appeal of the judge’s Feb. 17 ruling requiring him to answer questions under oath in James’ investigation.
Trump’s lawyers contend James is using her civil investigation to gain access to information that could then be used against the Republican former president in a parallel criminal investigation being conducted by the Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, a Democrat.
James, also a Democrat, has said her threeyear investigation has uncovered evidence that Trump’s company misstated the value of assets like skyscrapers and golf courses on financial statements for over a decade.
Trump has denied the allegations, calling James’ investigation “racist” and a “witch hunt.” James is Black.
Engoron ordered Trump to pay $110,000 because that is the total amount of fines he accrued through May 6, when Trump’s lawyers submitted 66 pages of court documents detailing the efforts by him and his lawyers to locate the subpoenaed records.