President Donald Trump has just scored a massive victory over New York Attorney General Letitia James in court today after the judge ruled to end the civil contempt sanction against him.
The ruling adds to Trump’s string of wins over officials from his former home state.
The New York judge said Wednesday that he will lift a contempt of court against Trump by next week if Trump’s legal team provides more information about a search for documents sought by AG James.
The judge also wants Trump to pay a $110,000 fine he has accrued since being found in contempt.
However, the court will not add any more fines to the total as James requested.
If the new conditions are not met by May 20, Judge Arthur Engoron said he will be forced to reinstate Trump’s $10,000 per-day fine.
The daily fine was originally ordered when the 45th president was found in contempt for not complying with a subpoena issued by James.
According to the AP: “Engoron ruled Trump in contempt on April 25 and fined him $10,000 per day for not complying with a subpoena for documents in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ investigation, which is probing whether Trump may have misstated the value of assets like skyscrapers and golf courses on financial statements for over a decade.
“The total Engoron ordered Trump to pay is the fine accrued through May 6, when Trump’s lawyers submitted 66 pages of court documents detailing efforts to locate the subpoenaed records.
“Engoron could reinstate the fine if the conditions he set forth on Wednesday are not met.”
NEW
Judge: Trump can purge contempt order by May 20, if—
* He pays $110,000 fine.
* He files more affidavits about searches and retention/deletion policies.
* eDiscovery firm completes its review.Per NYAG.
Background, @LawCrimeNews https://t.co/ZCyPa0iL2J
— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) May 11, 2022
Breaking News: A judge released Donald Trump from a contempt order but said it would be reinstated if he didn’t pay a $110,000 fine and keep complying with a subpoena. https://t.co/XgXmzO81Dz
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 11, 2022
NEW: A New York judge says Trump’s civil contempt sanction will be lifted if he meets certain court-ordered conditions by May 20 — but ordered him to pay $110k in contempt fines to the NY AG’s office. https://t.co/6C2GmqT0XD
— Axios (@axios) May 11, 2022
From CNBC:
Engoron also said that a review of Trump documents by the digital forensics company HaystackID would need to be completed and that Trump would have to pay accrued fines through last Friday of $110,000 to the attorney general’s office by the May 20 deadline.
James’s office is eyeing allegations that the Trump Organizations illegally manipulated the stated values of different properties in order to obtain financial benefits when applying for loans, obtaining insurance policies, and paying taxes.
