On Wednesday, New York State Judge Arthur F. Engoron rescinded the contempt of court order he issued last month against former President Donald Trump on the condition that Trump pays a $110,000 fine and describes how his namesake business dealt with Post-it notes as a means of communication.
Engoron issued the order last month after attorneys representing the Trump Organization and the ex-president himself had failed to provide financial documents subpoenaed by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Trump was penalized $10,000 each day through May 6, the date of his most recent submission in the case.
At a hearing on Wednesday, state attorney Andrew Amer focused on the topic of the Post-it notes, which Trump was known to use to correspond with his staff, and whether they were turned over.
“To our knowledge, we haven’t seen any documents that have Post-its on them,” said Amer. “And that’s one of the odd things about the production to date given the statements that was a means for Mr. Trump to communicate.”
He proposed that the policy on document retention and destruction should involve the handling of Post-it notes.
James’ office had requested records and data, but it was also noted that Trump had allegedly failed to give over multiple phones he had used.
In the affidavit filed on May 6, Trump stated that he does not “know the whereabouts” of numerous phones, including one he used at the White House and that “was taken from [him] at some point when [he] was President.”
In addition, Alina Habba, one of Trump’s lawyers, stated that “All documents responsive to the subpoena were produced to the attorney general months ago.”
Trump has until May 20 to produce affidavits detailing his legal team’s efforts to comply with subpoenas from James, for which his staff has returned no papers or electronic devices in greater detail than previously provided. He must also describe the Trump Organization’s document destruction and retention policies.
“Today’s decision makes clear that no one can evade accountability. We will continue to enforce the law and seek answers as part of this investigation,” James said on May 11.
For the contempt order to be formally expunged, a separate, long-delayed eDiscovery operation by a third party must also be completed by that day. The daily fine will be reintroduced if Trump fails to meet Engoron’s terms by May 20.
