On Monday, Judge Arthur Engoron ruled that former U.S. President Donald Trump was in contempt of the court for refusing to produce documents requested in a subpoena. The subpoena was issued on December 1, 2021, by the New York Office of the Attorney General (OAG).
The OAG sought to retrieve multiple documents relating to Donald Trump’s personal finances and his valuation of certain assets under his control as part of a civil inquiry into Trump’s business practices.
“Trump’s annual financial statements inflated the values of Trump’s assets to obtain favorable terms for loans and insurance coverage, while also deflating the value of other assets to reduce real estate taxes,” AG Letitia James wrote.
However, the OAG alleges that Trump failed to provide all required documents. James filed a contempt motion earlier this month, requesting that Trump be fined after failing to meet the March 31 deadline, Politico reports. Judge Engoron ruled on the motion Monday, ordering a $10,000 fine every day until the papers are surrendered.
According to Trump’s attorneys, their client has already complied with the subpoena.
In a court filing, Trump’s attorney Alina Habba, calls attention to the wording of the document, which states that the Respondent “need not produce documents in the possession, custody or control of the Trump Organization, if such documents have previously been produced to this Office during the course of this investigation and you stipulate that the Trump Organization-produced documents can be used as
if those documents were produced by you.”
Trump’s legal team asserted that the Trump Organization has already turned the documents over to the OAG.
They further stated, “After conducting a diligent search and review, Respondent’s counsel determined that Respondent was not in possession of any documents responsive to the Subpoena and that all potentially responsive documents were in the possession, custody, or control of the Trump Organization.”
The team also stated that holding Trump in contempt was an unnecessarily severe response.
“The imposition of sanctions for civil contempt is a drastic remedy that is warranted only in the most egregious of circumstances. The present scenario cannot conceivably qualify since Respondent thoroughly complied with this Court’s Order,” Trump’s attorneys wrote.
As part of the same investigation, James also served a subpoena to Cushman & Wakefield, a real estate appraisal firm that has worked for the Trump Organization. The subpoena was for anything “related to its real estate work” after suspicion arose that the company may have contributed to Trump’s alleged false valuations.
Later on Monday, Judge Engoron issued another ruling ordering Cushman & Wakefield to comply with the subpoena by providing the documents to the attorney general’s office by May 27.
James counted the ruling as another victory, stating, “For the second time today, a judge has made clear that no one is above the law. Cushman & Wakefield’s work for Donald J. Trump and the Trump Organization is clearly relevant to our investigation, and we are pleased that has now been confirmed by the court. Our investigation will continue undeterred.”
In an earlier ruling in February, Judge Engoron ordered that Ivanka Trump and Donald J. Trump Jr. must comply with requests for questioning by the Office of the Attorney General. The Trump family appealed the order, with Donald Trump Sr. claiming the investigation was politically motivated.
“It is a continuation of the greatest witch hunt in history,” he said.
Apart from the civil investigation, the Trump family and Trump Organization are at the center of a parallel criminal fraud investigation of the same conduct, led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
