Trump loses bid to lift contempt charge despite swearing he can’t find subpoenaed documents

Trump loses bid to lift contempt charge despite swearing he can’t find subpoenaed documents


Former President Donald Trump looks on before speaking during a tour to an unfinished section of the border wall on June 30, 2021 in Pharr, Texas.

Brandon Bell | Getty Images

A New York judge Friday denied a request by lawyers for former President Donald Trump to lift a contempt of court finding despite the submission of new sworn affidavits from Trump and his attorneys that argue he has complied with a subpoena from the state attorney general.

Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron said that the new affidavits attesting to Trump’s and others’ inability to locate documents sought by Attorney General Letitia James were not sufficient to purge Trump of being held in contempt.

In a letter to Engoron, lawyers for James said that he should not lift the contempt order, which has a $10,000-per-day fine against Trump attached to it, until more extensive searches for the documents are conducted than the ones Trump’s lawyers said had been done.

That search, the AG’s lawyers said, should include all of Trump’s mobile phones, Trump Tower in Manhattan, each of Trump’s properties where he maintains a “private residence” and “personal office,” off-site storage locations, and in “all electronic devices issued by the Trump Organization to Trump’s executive assistants.

Engoron’s ruling upholding his contempt order was issued at a hearing called on such short notice that it was not publicly announced by the court.

The hearing came four days after Engoron found Trump in contempt for failing to turn over documents to James by the March 31 deadline set by the judge for compliance to the subpoena.

James’ civil investigation is eyeing claims that the Trump Organization improperly manipulated the stated valuations of various real estate assets for financial gain.

Engoron on Tuesday ordered that Trump immediately begin paying a $10,000-per-day fine as a result of the contempt finding.

CNBC Politics

Read more of CNBC’s politics coverage:

On Wednesday, Trump’s lawyers filed affidavits in court under seal from themselves and Trump, saying they had been unable to locate the documents James wants to see.

“In accordance and compliance with the [contempt] Order, it is respectfully requested that this Court purge the finding of civil contempt,” Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba wrote in that filing.

Engoron at a hearing Monday had questioned why Trump had not previously submitted an affidavit personally but instead relied on Habba to make the claim that he could not find the documents.

In his two-sentence affidavit signed in Palm Beach, Fla., Trump said that “to the best of my knowledge, I do not have any of the documents requested in the subpoena … in my personal possession.”

Trump added that if there are any relevant records remaining, “I believe they would be in the possession of custody of the Trump Organization.”

That echoes what his lawyer Habba previously told Engoron.

Habba and another attorney from her firm, Michael Madaio, in separate affidavits filed Wednesday, said that after conducting a comprehensive search, they found that Trump did not possess any additional documents that could be provided in response to eight categories of records demanded in James’ subpoena.

“Respondent’s productions and responses to the Subpoena are complete and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief,” Habba wrote.

“No documents or information responsive to the Subpoena have been withheld from Respondent’s production and response.

Habba earlier this week appealed Engoron’s contempt finding. That appeal has yet to be heard.

Habba did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on Engoron’s latest ruling.



Source

PBS sues Trump over executive order to cut funding
Politics

PBS sues Trump over executive order to cut funding

The Public Broadcasting Service on Friday sued President Donald Trump to block his attempt to cut off its federal funding, and accused the president of retaliating against the public broadcaster over “perceived political slights in news coverage.” Trump’s executive order targeting PBS’ funding “will upend public television,” lawyers for the broadcaster behind “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” […]

Read More
Elon Musk deflects question about report of drug use, family drama as Trump looks on
Politics

Elon Musk deflects question about report of drug use, family drama as Trump looks on

Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks alongside U.S. President Donald Trump to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on May 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Friday deflected a reporter’s effort to ask the mega-billionaire about a New York Times article detailing his alleged […]

Read More
Trump, Elon Musk to hold joint event as DOGE loses its leader, top staffers
Politics

Trump, Elon Musk to hold joint event as DOGE loses its leader, top staffers

President Donald Trump on Friday will host a press event to celebrate Elon Musk as the Tesla CEO concludes his official government service after four turbulent months leading the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. Musk’s scheduled departure comes at a precarious moment, both for DOGE and for his relationship with the president. Multiple top staffers […]

Read More