A New York Supreme Court judge held former President Donald Trump in civil contempt on Monday, ordering him to pay $10,000 every day until he fully complies with New York Attorney General Letitia James's subpoena in her investigation of the Trump Organization.James has been seeking various financial records after former Trump attorney Michael Cohen told Congress that Trump had exaggerated the values of various assets on statements in order to get more advantageous terms for loans and for tax purposes.
Earlier this month, James's office requested the daily fines and argued that Trump should be held in contempt for failing to meet a March 31 deadline to turn over documents. Trump attorney Alina Habba argued that any materials that Trump had not turned over were in the possession of the Trump organization, not Trump personally.
Ultimately, Judge Arthur Engoron ruled that Trump had not conducted a proper search for documents and was thus not in compliance with a previous court order from February.
James celebrated the ruling on Twitter.
"Today, justice prevailed," she tweeted. "Our investigation into Donald Trump and the Trump Organization’s financial dealings will continue undeterred because no one is above the law."
Habba on Tuesday morning vowed to appeal: "We respectfully disagree with the court’s decision. All documents responsive to the subpoena were produced to the attorney general months ago. The only issue raised by the attorney general at today’s (yesterday’s) hearing was with an affidavit submitted which copied the form mandated by the attorney general. This does not even come close to meeting the standard on a motion for contempt and, thus, we intend to appeal."
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