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James announced on Thursday, April 7 that she is asking Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron to hold Trump in contempt of court for refusing to comply with an order to turn over documents as she investigates his Organization’s business dealings.
In addition, James also asked the judge to fine Trump $10,000 for each day he fails to surrender the documents to her investigators.
"Mr. Trump’s purported ‘response’ violates the court’s order; it is not full compliance, or any degree of compliance, but simply more delay and obfuscation,” the court filing alleges. “Mr. Trump should now be held in civil contempt and fined in an amount sufficient to coerce his compliance with the court’s order and compensate (The Office of the Attorney General) for its fees and costs associated with this motion.”
Trump was ordered by a judge in February to comply with subpoenas for documents, but James’ office says that rather than meet the Thursday, March 31 deadline, he instead raised different objections.
“My office is filing a motion to hold Donald Trump in contempt of court,” she announced. “Despite a crystal clear order from the court, Donald Trump has refused to turn over documents as part of our investigation into him and the Trump Organization's financial dealings.
“Donald Trump should be fined $10,000 per day for every day that he continues to violate the court’s order to provide these documents to my office,” she added. “No one is above the law.”
James said that her investigation, which began in 2019, found significant evidence that directly tied Trump and his two eldest children, Donald Trump, Jr., and Ivanka, to allegedly over-inflated property values to secure financing on multiple occasions.
They also allegedly lowered property values on some forms for tax agents but raised them to look better for financial lenders.
Specifically, they are examining a Trump property on Wall Street in Manhattan that Trump reportedly told lenders was worth $527 million, but instructed tax officials it was actually closer to $16 million.
The Seven Springs estate in Northern Westchester County, New York, and a California golf course are also included in the ongoing investigation.
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