NEW YORK –
Former US President Donald Trump has paid $ 110,000 in fines after he was arrested for contempt of court for failing to respond to a civil summons issued by the New York Attorney General.
Trump paid the fine on Thursday, but still has to submit additional documents to overturn the contempt order, the office of Attorney General Leticia James said on Friday.
A statement requesting comment was left on Friday with Trump’s lawyer.
A Manhattan judge declared Trump contempt of court on April 25 and fined him $ 10,000 a day for failing to comply with a subpoena in James’s long-running investigation into his business practices.
Judge Arthur Engoren agreed on May 11 to overturn the disrespect order if Trump paid the fines by Friday and submitted affidavits outlining detailed efforts to seek subpoenas and explaining his policies and his company for retaining documents.
Engoron also requires a company hired by Trump to help with the search, HaystackID, to complete an inspection of 17 boxes stored off-site, and that company report its findings and submit all relevant documents. The process was completed on Thursday, James’ office said.
Engron told Trump to pay the money directly into James’ office and the attorney general to keep the money in an escrow account, while Trump’s legal team appealed the judge’s initial finding of contempt.
Engoron suspended the fine on May 6, when Trump’s lawyers presented 66 pages of court documents describing his and his lawyers’ efforts to find the subpoenas. He warned that he could reinstate him with a retroactive date until May 7 if his conditions are not met.
James, a Democrat, said her three-year investigation revealed evidence that Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, had misrepresented assets such as skyscrapers and golf courses in its financial statements for more than a decade.
Trump, a Republican, denies the allegations. He called James’ investigation “racist” and politically motivated. James is black. Trump’s lawyers have accused her of selective prosecution. Trump is also suing James in federal court, seeking to suspend her investigation.
Last week, a lawyer from James’ office said on Friday that the evidence found in the investigation could support legal action against the former president, his company or both.
Lawyer Andrew Amer said during a hearing in Trump’s case against James that “apparently a significant amount of evidence has been gathered that could support the initiation of enforcement proceedings”, although no final decision has been made to file such a lawsuit.
Add Comment