A New York judge ruled on Monday that former President Donald Trump was in contempt of court for not submitting required documents in the state attorney general’s probe of his business dealings, imposing a $10,000 per day fine until he complies.
Justice Arthur Engoron issued the ruling based on repeated failures by Trump’s legal representatives to produce subpoenaed documents by March 31.
“Mr. Trump … I know you take your business seriously, and I take mine seriously. I hereby hold you in civil contempt,” Engoron said, according to Reuters.
“In particular there is no admissible evidence of who, what, where, when and how any search was conducted,” Engoron added, noting that Trump’s actions were insufficient.
“Thus Mr. Trump didn’t comply,” the judge said.
Failure to pay the daily fine could result in jail time under state law, though the move would be unlikely in Trump’s case.
New York Attorney General Letitia James shared her response regarding the ruling, stating her investigation was not politically motivated as Trump has previously claimed.
“Today, justice prevailed,” James said, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“For years, Donald Trump has tried to evade the law and stop our lawful investigation into him and his company’s financial dealings,” she added.
James also took to Twitter to declare victory following the ruling.
“In a major victory, a court has ruled in our favor to hold Donald Trump in contempt of court,” she tweeted.
#BREAKING: In a major victory, a court has ruled in our favor to hold Donald Trump in contempt of court.
Donald Trump must pay $10,000 per day for every day that he continues to defy the court's order to turn over documents to my office. https://t.co/AFAPPrnce4
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) April 25, 2022
The Trump Organization has reported that it has submitted more than 750,000 documents to the attorney general. However, the ruling follows complaints by James’ office that complained the company has still not handed over items personally involving the former president that it considers essential to its investigation.
Trump lawyer Alina Habba said during the hearing that Trump “is an honest person, much to the dismay of certain people in this room.” Habba has also previously stated she would appeal any contempt ruling.
The ruling reaches back to an investigation by James in 2019 after former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen claimed during congressional testimony that the former president exaggerated company financial details for advantages on taxes and loans.
James’ office filed a legal challenge in 2020 against the Trump Organization and Trump’s son Eric Trump over allegations that the company was refusing to comply with the investigation.
In a statement from Trump earlier this month, he blasted the investigation, writing, “This is just a continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt of all time, by a failed Attorney General…I’ve been investigated by the Democrats more than Billy the Kid, Jesse James, and Al Capone, combined. This has been going on for years.”
NEW!
President Donald J. Trump:
“This is just a continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt of all time, by a failed Attorney General…I've been investigated by the Democrats more than Billy the Kid, Jesse James, and Al Capone, combined. This has been going on for years…” pic.twitter.com/9Ar1Hyk8pq
— Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) April 7, 2022