Former President Donald Trump was subpoenaed to turn over documents to the state of New York that were requested by New York Attorney General Letitia James. However, Judge Arthur F. Engoron claims Trump failed to cooperate with the court’s orders and held the former president in contempt on Monday.
“Mr. Trump: I know you take your business seriously, and I take mine seriously,” Engoron said, according to the New York Times.
Each day that Trump fails to comply with the order, he will be fined $10,000 per day. Trump’s lawyer, Alina Habba, expressed that she intends to appeal the judge’s ruling for her client.
Why was Trump supposed to hand documents over to New York in the first place?
James is investigating whether Trump falsely inflated the value of his assets in annual financial statements, and in January, her office came to the conclusion that the Trump Organization had engaged in “fraudulent or misleading” practices with the statements.
The attorney general first sought to issue an order of contempt against Trump on April 7, after he failed to hand the documents over by March 31.
In February, two of Trump’s children were ordered to appear for depositions for James’ investigation into the Trump Organization’s financial practices. Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump appealed the order to appear but did not challenge the order to comply with the subpoena for the documents, according to CBS News.
What happens now with Trump and the New York investigation?
Trump’s lawyer, Habba, had previously told Engoron that Trump should not be held in contempt and that the Trump Organization was on schedule with handing over information and documentation to the attorney general.
She also called the investigation “a political crusade,” per CNBC.
In a separate case, Trump sued James, seeking to stop the inquiry and prevent her from participating in a separate investigation. That case is still developing.