New York Attorney General asks judge to hold Donald Trump in contempt for stonewalling on documents

New York Attorney General asks judge to hold Donald Trump in contempt for stonewalling on documents


New York State Attorney General, Letitia James, speaks during a news conference, to announce criminal justice reform in New York City, U.S., May 21, 2021.

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

New York Attorney General Letitia James asked a judge Thursday to hold former President Donald Trump in contempt of court for refusing to comply with a judge’s order to turn over documents for her investigation of his company.

James also asked Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron to fine Trump $10,000 for every day he fails to surrender those documents.

The attorney general also says in a court filing that Trump is in violation of Engoron’s order to give the state’s investigators the documents by March 31 pursuant to a subpoena, a deadline that itself had previously been extended from March 3.

James is investigating allegations that the Trump Organization manipulated the stated values of various real estate assets to get better financial terms when applying for loans and insurance, and for tax purposes.

“The judge’s order was crystal clear: Donald J. Trump must comply with our subpoena and turn over relevant documents to my office,” James said in a statement.

“Instead of obeying a court order, Mr. Trump is trying to evade it. We are seeking the court’s immediate intervention because no one is above the law.”

Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Engoron in February ordered Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump to answer questions under oath from James’ investigators, and that Trump individually had to give James’ office additional documents.

While Trump appealed the order that he submit to questioning, he did not appeal the order to surrender the documents.

And “rather than ‘comply in full’ with the Court’s unambiguous directive by producing all
responsive documents by March 31, Mr. Trump did not comply at all,” James said in her filing

Instead, Trump raised objections to “each of the eight document requests in the subpoena based on grounds such as overbreadth, burden, and lack of particularity,” the filing said.

Trump also said that subject to his objections ‘he would not produce any documents” responsive to the subpoena” because his lawyer said that none of the documents could be found, the filing said.

Trump also claimed that because that lawyer believed that even if the documents existed, “the Trump Organization has them” and the attorney general “will just have to wait until the Trump Organization completes its production to get them,” the filing said.

Last week, in another court filing, James said her investigation has “uncovered significant evidence” that financial statements by the Trump Organization relied on misleading valuations of its real estate assets for more than a decade.

Those potentially misleading valuations “and other misrepresentations” were used by the company “to secure economic benefits — including loans, insurance coverage, and tax deductions — on terms more favorable than the true facts warranted,” that earlier filing said.

This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.



Source

How NFL quarterback Lamar Jackson is leveraging his horse racing team to build up Baltimore
Business

How NFL quarterback Lamar Jackson is leveraging his horse racing team to build up Baltimore

Lamar Jackson with the winners of the 2025 NTL Kickoff Race. Courtesy: National Thoroughbred League Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has a singular goal both on the football field and as owner of the Maryland Colts horse racing franchise in the National Thoroughbred League. “I just want to win a championship,” Jackson told CNBC. “I […]

Read More
Cava revenue beats estimates as Mediterranean chain reports double-digit same-store sales growth
Business

Cava revenue beats estimates as Mediterranean chain reports double-digit same-store sales growth

A customer exits a Cava restaurant in New York City on June 22, 2023. Brendan McDermid | Reuters Cava on Thursday reported better-than-expected sales in its latest fiscal quarter, shaking off the malaise the broader restaurant industry has felt as consumers have cut back on dining. The Mediterranean chain said its same-store sales grew 10.8% […]

Read More
Walmart says it will hike some prices due to tariffs. Here’s what may cost more
Business

Walmart says it will hike some prices due to tariffs. Here’s what may cost more

Price increases are coming soon to a Walmart near you. On Thursday, Walmart CFO John David Rainey warned investors that even the retail giant known for its discounts will have to raise the prices of many items because of tariffs — despite a 90-day reprieve that lowered duties on Chinese imports to 30%. Goods from […]

Read More