New York Justice Arthur Engoron ruled in favor of Democrat New York Attorney General Letitia James’ motion to hold 45th President Donald Trump in contempt of court and fine him $10,000 per day for refusing to turn over documents to the prosecutors.
James celebrated the decision on Twitter, calling the judge’s decision “a major victory” and a win for “justice.”
“Donald Trump must pay $10,000 per day for every day that he continues to defy the court’s order,” wrote James. “Our investigation into Donald Trump and the Trump Organization’s financial dealings will continue undeterred,” she added.
Today, justice prevailed.
Our investigation into Donald Trump and the Trump Organization’s financial dealings will continue undeterred because no one is above the law.
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) April 25, 2022
Trump previously denied any wrongdoing and claimed he was adequately complying with the court, and has repeatedly described James’ investigation as part of a “witch hunt” against him as retribution for his political victories.
“This is just a continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt of all time, by a failed Attorney General, who continues to use her office for political gain,” Trump said in a statement last week, according to NBC. His lawyer added, “Our client has consistently complied with the many discovery requests served by the Attorney General’s office over the years.”
James has been investigating whether to file a civil suit against Trump’s company “over allegations that it inflated financial statements for over two years,” the outlet reports. James and her office claim they have “uncovered substantial evidence establishing numerous misrepresentations in Mr. Trump’s financial statements provided to banks, insurers, and the Internal Revenue Service.”
The Trump Organization, NBC notes, “has portrayed itself in court papers as having bent over backward to comply with the document requests.”
The company says it has produced over 750,000 documents per week, and is keeping James’ office “updated on its progress with weekly progress reports.”
This is a breaking news story and may be updated with additional information as it becomes available.
