NY AG asks judge to hold Trump in contempt and fine him $10,000 a day
New York's attorney general has asked a state judge to hold Donald Trump in contempt of court for failing to turn over documents she subpoenaed as part of her civil investigation into the former US president's business practices.
In a 21-page filing on Thursday, Letitia James said Trump did not honor a court order that he comply "in full" with her subpoena for documents and information, requesting that Judge Arthur Engoron fine Trump $10,000 for each day he fails to produce the documents.
James is currently investigating whether or not the Trump Organization unlawfully falsified the value of assets for financial gain.
Trump was given a March 31 deadline by Engoron to comply with James’ subpoena for records. The judge also ordered Trump and his two eldest children to comply with subpoenas for their testimony.
The former president is appealing the order granting the attorney general’s request for testimony, however, in her filing, James argued Trump has failed to appeal or otherwise properly contest the order for document production.
"The judge's order was crystal clear: Donald J. Trump must comply with our subpoena and turn over relevant documents to my office," James said in a statement on Thursday.
“Instead of obeying a court order, Mr. Trump is trying to evade it. We are seeking the court’s immediate intervention because no one is above the law.”
“Mr. Trump should now be held in civil contempt and fined in an amount sufficient to coerce his compliance with the Court’s order and compensate [Office of Attorney General] for its fees and costs associated with this motion,” James’s motion reads.
James said last week that “significant evidence” was found following her investigation which shows that for over a decade the Trump Organization’s financial statements “relied on misleading asset valuations and other misrepresentations to secure economic benefits”.
Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, calling the investigation a “witch-hunt.” So far, the former president has not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing.
A spokesperson for the company said in a statement that James’s request on Thursday was “completely baseless.”
“President Trump left The Trump Organization in 2017 and any responsive documents were previously provided to the AG by The Trump Organization,” the spokesperson said in the statement. “This is just more harassment and the latest chapter in the AG’s continued witch hunt.”
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