New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a motion on Thursday to hold former president Donald Trump in contempt of court and fine him $10,000 per day for failing to turn over documents in her office’s civil investigation. After being ordered by a stage judge to “comply in full” with James’ request, Trump’s legal team was granted a 30-day extension. However, as the March 31 deadline drew near, his legal team tried to delay the deadline even further by claiming that it still can’t get ahold of the documents because the Trump Organization has them. That’s when James had enough.
Via CNN:
James argued on Thursday that Trump’s attorneys’ response amounted to “more delay and obfuscation,” saying that his objections came too late. She said that Trump was “highly likely to have been in possession, custody or control of numerous documents” bearing on her investigation and that he failed to adequately detail the efforts he undertook to search for the subpoenaed documents.
James also took to Twitter to announce her plan to hold the former president in contempt.
“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,” James tweeted. “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. No one is above the law.”
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.
No one is above the law.— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) April 7, 2022
For people who have been hoping to see Trump face some sort of legal consequences after leaving office, the contempt filing is a sign that at least the civil investigation into his questionable business practices is still kicking. Last month, prosecutors resigned from the criminal investigation into Trump after it became clear that the Manhattan district attorney’s office is no longer looking to prosecute Trump on felony charges. It was a deflating setback, but it appears that Attorney General James is not willing to throw in the towel that easily.
(Via CNN, New York AG Letitia James on Twitter)
Source: https://uproxx.com/viral/donald-trump-contempt-new-york-attorney-general/