Trump held in contempt, fined $14k a day until he complies with probe

NEW YORK • A New York judge has held former president Donald Trump in contempt of court for not producing documents subpoenaed in the state Attorney-General's civil probe of his business practices, and ordered Mr Trump to be fined US$10,000 (S$14,000) per day until he complies.

Mr Trump lost a bid to quash a subpoena from state Attorney-General Letitia James and then failed to produce all the documents by a court-ordered March 3 deadline, later extended to March 31 at his lawyers' request.

Justice Arthur Engoron ruled that a contempt finding was appropriate because of what he called "repeated failures" to hand over materials and because it was not clear Mr Trump had conducted a complete search for responsive documents.

"Mr Trump... I know you take your business seriously and I take mine seriously. I hereby hold you in civil contempt," the judge said on Monday, although Mr Trump was not in the courtroom.

Mr Trump intends to appeal against the contempt ruling, said his attorney Alina Habba. "We respectfully disagree with the court's decision," she said in a statement.

Should Mr Trump fail to pay the fine, he could be jailed, according to Ms Sarah Krissoff, a New York lawyer not involved in the case, though she said such a scenario was unlikely and the judge could opt for other measures such as increasing the amount of the fine.

A-G James is investigating whe-ther the Trump Organisation, the former president's New York City-based family company, misstated the values of its real estate properties to obtain favourable loans and tax deductions.

She has said the more than three-year-old probe found "significant evidence" that the company included misleading asset valuations in its financial statements for more than a decade.

"Today's ruling makes clear: No one is above the law," the Attorney-General said in a statement on Monday.

Mr Trump, a Republican, denies wrongdoing and has called the investigation politically motivated. A-G James is a Democrat.

The Attorney-General has questioned how the Trump Organisation valued the Trump brand as well as properties including golf clubs in New York and Scotland and Mr Trump's own penthouse apartment in Midtown Manhattan's Trump Tower.

Also on Monday, Judge Engoron granted a motion by A-G James' office to compel real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield to comply with certain subpoenas. Cushman conducted appraisals for several Trump Organisation properties.

Mr Trump and two of his adult children, Ivanka and Donald Jr, were also subpoenaed and ordered to provide testimony to the Attorney-General. An appeal is pending for the testimony.

The Trump Organisation's property valuations are also the subject of a criminal probe in Manhattan, which last year led to the indictment of the company's chief financial officer.

Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg said this month that the probe is ongoing despite the departure of its two top lawyers.

REUTERS