(The hill) — A New York state judge held former President Donald Trump in contempt on Monday for failing to turn over documents after he was ordered to comply with a subpoena from the New York attorney general’s office.
New York Supreme Court Justice arthur engoron ordered Trump to pay $10,000 a day until he proves he complied with the requirements of the document.
New York Attorney General leticia james (D) applauded Monday’s ruling.
“Today justice prevailed,” James said in a statement. “For years, Donald Trump has tried to evade the law and stop our legal investigation into him and his company’s financial dealings. Today’s ruling makes it clear: no one is above the law.”
Earlier this month, his office accused Trump of defying the court order by claiming he does not have any documents requested by the subpoena and even objecting to the records demand after he was ordered to comply.
“Mr. trump the alleged ‘Response’ violates the Court’s order; not full compliance, or any degree of compliance, but simply more delay and obfuscation,” James’ office wrote in its contempt motion.
“In the circumstances presented here, long after the summons return date had passed, and long after this Court denied the motion to vacate, Mr. Trump had no further right to contest the summons.”
The investigation is a civil matter, meaning it cannot lead directly to criminal charges, but it runs parallel to a Manhattan District Attorney investigation that has already resulted in the indictment of the Trump Organization’s chief financial officer.
While Trump has repeatedly attacked James and his investigation into his business practices, his lawyers deny he improperly withheld anything from investigators.
James has said the investigation is focused on whether the Trump Organization inflated the value of its assets over the years for financial gain. His office has claimed to have found “significant” evidence pointing to rampant financial fraud at the company, and a state court judge who personally reviewed some of the requested documents appears to agree.
In February, Engoron rejected Trump’s attempt to block James’ subpoena and ordered the former president to provide documents and testimony to the attorney general’s office. Engoron wrote that Trump’s arguments that the investigation is politically motivated have little bearing on whether he should comply with the subpoena.
“Ultimately, a State Attorney General begins to investigate a business entity, discovers abundant evidence of possible financial fraud, and wants to question, under oath, several of the entities’ directors, including his namesake. She has every right to do so,” the judge said.
Trump appealed Engoron’s deposition order, which is currently pending before the state appeals court, but his attorneys initially did not object to the document production portion of the ruling.
Alina Habba, Trump’s attorney, told the court last week that her client has not challenged the ruling and that any records related to James’ subpoena are in the possession of her company.
“After conducting a diligent search and review, counsel for Defendant determined that Defendant was not in possession of any documents responsive to the Summons and that all potentially sensitive documents were in the possession, custody, or control of the Trump Organization,” Habba wrote.
Mirroring Trump’s social media attacks on the state attorney general, Habba also suggested the contempt motion was politically motivated.
“Given the OAG’s recalcitrant behavior, it is fair to question the OAG’s motive for filing this application, which appears to be little more than a fabricated publicity stunt,” he wrote, using an acronym for the Office of the Attorney General.
E. Danya Perry, a former New York state deputy attorney general who is now in private practice, said judges have broad discretion in determining whether litigants have disobeyed court orders and what penalties to impose to force compliance, but that generally avoid imposing punitive measures. measures.
“It is not intended to punish the person found in contempt, it is really intended to force them to comply,” Perry had said earlier. “So here, the judge will have to assess what it takes to start a fire and get them to comply with the court order.”
He also said that Trump’s legal team would likely be hard-pressed on Monday to show that they are making good-faith efforts to comply with the Engoron ruling.
“This ruse about whether or not the documents are in the custody of Mr. Trump, when they are clearly in the custody of the Trump Organization is a distinction without a difference,” Perry said. “Many courts will be tolerant of internal deadlines running out, but tend to look askance at court-mandated deadlines.”
Reference-www.wivb.com