Judge: Trump must pay $110K, meet conditions to end contempt order
NEW YORK >> A New York judge said Wednesday he will lift Donald Trump's contempt of court order if the former president meets conditions including paying $110,000 in fines he's racked up for being slow to respond to a civil subpoena issued by the state's attorney general.
Judge Arthur Engoron said he will end his contempt finding 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.
Engoron declared Trump in contempt on April 25 and fined him $10,000 per day for not complying with a subpoena in New York Attorney General Letitia
James' long-running investigation into Trump's business practices.
James, a Democrat, has said her three-year investigation uncovered evidence that Trump's company, the Trump Organization, misstated the value of assets like skyscrapers and golf courses on financial statements for over a decade.
Trump, a Republican, denies the allegations. He has calling James' investigation “racist” and a politically motivated “witch hunt.” James is Black. Trump's lawyers have accused her of selective prosecution.
Trump's lawyers contend James is using her civil investigation to gain access to information that could then be used against him in a parallel criminal investigation being conducted by the Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, also a Democrat.
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.
The judge required a company hired by Trump to aid in the search, HaystackID, finish going through 17 boxes kept at an off-site storage facility, and for that company to report its findings and turn over any relevant documents.
Engoron said he could reinstate the fine, retroactive to May 7, if his conditions aren't met. He told Trump to pay the money directly to James' office and for the attorney general to hold the money in an escrow account while Trump's legal team appeals the original contempt finding.