(CNN) – New York Judge Donald Trump has been subjected to civil contempt after the state attorney general’s office said he failed to change a series of documents as part of an investigation into the former president’s company.
Judge Arthur Engoron said Trump had failed to comply with his order to prepare the documents and that his lawyers had failed to show how the search for items in Trump’s possession had been conducted. Encoron also ordered the former president to pay a $ 10,000 fine a day until he complies.
Trump, I know you take your work very seriously, and I take mine seriously. I consider it a civil disgrace and will impose a fine of $ 10,000 a day until you stop that insult, ”Engoron told a hearing on Monday. A written decision with a start date for the fine is expected Tuesday.
His lawyer, Alina Hubba, told reporters that Trump plans to appeal the decision.
“We do not respect the decision of the court,” Hubba said. “As I explained, all the documents in response to the summons had already been submitted to the Attorney General months ago.”
The office of New York Attorney General Letidia James is investigating the Trump organization For more than two years. Earlier, he said his office had found several false or fraudulent misrepresentations and deficiencies in the Trump organization’s financial statements, which were passed on to creditors and insurers as part of its investigation.
Andrew Amar of the Attorney General’s Office said Trump had not filed “a response document” to the sapona he was presented with in December.
“Because we do not have evidence of who sits at the top of the organization, we are hampered in our efforts to gain full understanding,” Amir said.
Kevin Wallace, of the attorney general’s office, said that in some cases it was “too complicated” to obtain the documents needed for the trial. He further described the Trump organization as a family business run closely by 500 companies and a multi-million dollar movement.
In court, Happa said he did not believe the former president was outside the law, but said there was no written communication seeking the order. But Trump has produced hundreds of thousands of documents through his aides. Hubba said he searched for the former president’s printed calendars and physics file locations and interviewed his client in Florida.
“President Trump does not send emails. He does not send text messages. And he does not have a computer that works at home or anywhere else,” Hubba said.
“I took the flight myself, and I asked him one by one if there was anything he could not give me because I needed it. He did not, “he said.
The judge asked why Trump did not sign the pledge to comply with Sapona. Happa said.
“My client is an honest person and some people in this room will be stunned,” Hubba said.
James’ office said in court documents that the Trump organization is under investigation for engaging in fraud or misconduct in connection with assessments and financial statements. The attorney general’s office has summoned the former president and his company for documents related to his investigation.
Hubba argued that the Attorney General’s investigation was “apparently over.” Moreover, since its inception three years ago, the Trump organization has received six separate chaplains, produced more than 6 million pages of documents, and 13 Trump organization witnesses testified.
“The intent is constantly changing to suit the needs of the Attorney General,” Habba told the court. “When she’s not satisfied with the evidence she has received, she turns around and looks for something new.”
