A New York judge said Wednesday he’s close to releasing Donald Trump from a contempt finding, but only if the former president meets certain conditions, including paying $110,000 in fines accrued for failing to turn over documents in a state civil investigation.
— A New York judge said Wednesday he will lift his contempt of court order issued against Donald Trump if the former president meets certain conditions, including paying $110,000 in fines racked up for being slow to respond to a subpoena issued by the state’s attorney general. Judge Arthur Engoron said he will conditionally lift Trump’s contempt finding if, by May 20, Trump submits additional paperwork detailing efforts to search for the subpoenaed records and explaining his and his company’s document retention policies. The judge also requires that a company Trump hired to aid in the search complete its work. Engoron found Trump in contempt on April 25 and fined him $10,000 per day for not complying with a subpoena for documents issued by New York Attorney General Letitia James. James, a Democrat, says her investigators have uncovered evidence that Trump’s company misstated the value of assets like skyscrapers and golf courses on financial statements for over a decade. Trump has denied the allegations, calling James investigation “racist” and a “witch hunt.” James is Black. The total Engoron ordered Trump to pay is the amount of fines accrued through last Friday, when Trump’s lawyers submitted 66 pages of court documents detailing the efforts by him and his lawyers to locate the subpoenaed records.
